


Roulette!AU | Steven Universe

by Tatttletale



Series: copy-and-pasted AUs [4]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alive Rose Quartz, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Gen, Roulette!AU, Steven is Pearl's son
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:55:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 30,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24314653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tatttletale/pseuds/Tatttletale
Summary: The Crystal Gems are a team of magical beings who are the self-appointed guardians of the universe. Half-human, half-Gem hero Steven is the "little brother" of the group, and though he gradually learns how to use the powers that come from his forehead gem, he's constantly living in the shadow of his mother and leader of the Gem Rebellion, Pearl. Thankfully, he has his adoptive family, maternal Rose Quartz, stoic Garnet, and inquisitive Amethyst, and he also has his best friend, rebellious teenage Connie, to aid him through his adventures.~A selection of episodes I've rewritten for my crazy Roulette AU, in which character personalities are switched around with no apparent order! Rose Quartz remains as Pink Diamond in this AU.~LEFTOVER PROMPT: "I don't suppose you could figure out a way to have a story where Steven and Rose can both exist? I wouldn't mind seeing some pure Steven/Rose fluff." from MattieBoy42 on Fanfiction.net! I hope you enjoy !!
Relationships: Amethyst & Garnet & Pearl & Rose Quartz, Amethyst & Rose Quartz (Steven Universe), Amethyst & Steven Universe, Garnet & Rose Quartz (Steven Universe), Garnet & Steven Universe, Greg Universe & Steven Universe, Pearl/Greg Universe, Pearl/Pink Diamond (Steven Universe), Pearl/Rose Quartz (Steven Universe), Pearl/Rose Quartz | Pink Diamond, Pink Diamond & Steven Universe, Rose Quartz & Greg Universe, Rose Quartz & Steven Universe, Rose Quartz | Pink Diamond & Steven Universe, Steven Universe & Everyone
Series: copy-and-pasted AUs [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1753969
Comments: 11
Kudos: 34





	1. Love on the Planet Earth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl and her Diamond explore the Earth. Pink falls even deeper in love.

_Let's start at the beginning. The very beginning._

○○○ _  
_

"I— I can't believe it," Pink Diamond murmured, voice soft, disbelieving. ". . . My own colony!"

"Isn't it exciting?" Pearl agreed. "And it looks so beautiful! What should we name it?"

Pink smiled at Pearl's boldness. If any other Pearl had suggested their owner's colony was just as much theirs, they would undoubtedly be reprimanded. It was safe to say, as well, that Pearl wasn't really _hers_ anymore—she was her own Gem, and if anything, Pink found herself more _Pearl's_ than the other way around.

"What about. . . Earth?" she gave a soft laugh. "It feels good to finally say it. . . I've been saving that name for so long."

"I love it," Pearl grinned.

"Have you already organised the Lapis Lazuli schedules for us?"

"Of course! The terraforming should only take a few weeks, and then we'll be making our own _Gems_!"

"I can't wait," Pink sighed, wistfully.

○○○

Pearl sighed, reaching out to the control panel from her seat on Pink Diamond's lap.

For now, the moon base was as close as they could get to their new colony, but it quickly grew dull. The Earth hung in front of them like a giant blue marble, teasing them through the communication room's full-wall window.

"The Kindergarten was injected _years_ ago! Shouldn't they be emerging by now?"

Pearl squirmed a little on the restless Diamond's lap and placed a hand on the panel, electricity buzzing up through her arm and into her head. Graphs appeared before her eyes.

"The terraforming is going as scheduled. Lapises are already terraforming the Beta Kindergarten in the northern-western hemisphere. Bismuths have constructed strategic warp panels across the Earth and Peridot technician stations are planned to be developed in the Kindergartens soon. The first—" With a gasp, she lit up, quite literally. "Pink, the first Quartz soldiers are scheduled to emerge soon!"

"Finally, something exciting!" Pink agreed.

In a rush, they bustled down to the viewing orb and Pearl turned it on. The walls lit up with a holographic vision of the Prime Kindergarten.

Pink gasped, gazing around in awe, and Pearl threw an arm out, pointing. "Pink, look!"

On the far rocky wall, what appeared to be a Gem-shaped hole was glowing pink. A beat later and a grinning Amethyst burst from the rock and landed on the floor. The gem set against her upper arm was clean-cut and pristine.

Pink felt excitement flare up within her. "We're creating life from. . . _nothing_!"

"Welcome to Earth!" Pearl cried to the hologram, and then her face fell as it walked right through her and into the arms of a pair of newly-emerged soldiers.

Pearl sighed, face resigned. "I wish we could be there."

Pink said nothing, dreading the inevitable.

As she'd anticipated, Pearl's features suddenly lit up. "Wait— of course we can be there! We can warp into the Prime Kindergarten!"

"Wh-What? Pearl, no—" Pink Diamond found herself cringing. "If we went down to the kindergarten—if we were _caught_ —I would never hear the end of it from Yellow and Blue." She let her eyes drop. "Blue would throw me in the Tower."

The room was silent for a moment, and then Pearl padded over and reached up, lifting her face a little. She could just reach her this way, as she was kneeling on the floor.

"Pink. . ." Pearl's voice was soft. "You can't let them control you like this."

Pink only shook her head. "I can't do anything about it—they're my family. If. . ." Her voice petered out. She didn't like the idea herself, but if it would make Pearl happy. . . "—If you want, you can go by yourself. I'll stay here and wait for you."

"What? No!" Pearl sounded scandalised. "I'm not doing that! We'll both go, together."

Pink tried to ignore the fluttering feeling her words brought about in her stomach. ". . . How?"

"What if. . . you shapeshifted? To look like another Quartz?"

Pink raised her head. "You think so. . .?"

"Yes!" Suddenly, Pearl was completely onboard with the idea. Gem aglow, she projected a model of her Diamond into the air before them, saturated in a holographic blue. "If you shrink down in height, widen your build, grow out your hair. . . no one would know the difference!" The model complied, shrinking down into a soldier with tight ringlets.

"I. . . I can try," Pink said, if only to appease her. She took a good look at the hologram and then closed her eyes, imagining the form in her mind's eye, withdrawing the excess of her light projection back into her gem.

She heard Pearl gasp, and she opened her eyes.

"You look amazing!" Pearl cried, and brushed a hand over her chest. She shivered. "You even remembered the Court symbol!"

Pink smiled down at her in relief, and she could have sworn Pearl flushed before she stepped back and cleared her throat, shooting her a mischievous smile. "Are you ready to go?"

○○○

The Kindergarten warp pad chimed, shooting a beam of light into the sky. When the light cleared, it left a Pearl and a pink Quartz soldier standing together, gazing in awe around at the enormous canyon.

"Pearl. . . look!" Pink-Diamond-as-Quartz leaned over the warp pad ledge, pointing at a band of marching Amethysts. Pearl's grin was luminous.

"This is incredible!" Her wide eyes sparkled in excitement, and she grabbed ahold of Pink's hand. "Take us down there, quick!"

Taking her under an arm, Pink-as-Quartz obligingly leaped from the warp pad and into the air. Even as they drifted down to the Kindergarten floor, chunks of rock burst from the walls as dozens of Amethysts emerged and jumped down.

_"Pink,"_ Pearl breathed as they touched down. "This is. . ."

"Out of my way!" a newly emerged Amethyst cried, and shoved them apart as she ran past. Pink-as-Quartz fell to the ground with a surprised _ugh!_.

"Oh, dear!" Pearl cried, a small smile on her face, and padded over to help her up. "Are you alright?"

"Of course," Pink returned, taking her hand. "But this is. . . so _different_."

"Isn't it?" Pearl agreed with enthusiasm. "You're fitting right in! No one's saluting you now!"

Pink-as-Quartz gasped lightly. "You're. . . You're right!"

"This is so fun," her companion gushed. "Thank you so much for doing this for me. I couldn't have done this on my own!"

The words warmed Pink, and she smiled before taking her hand. "What about those Amethysts?"

"Yes!" Pearl cried, and hauled her over to the gathered soldiers nearby. When they pulled up in front of them, Pearl gave Pink a sly nudge.

"Uh, hello. . . fellow Amethyst guards!" Pink-as-Quartz called. "What. . . are we all up to?"

"There's two more from our unit that haven't emerged yet so we're gonna wait for 'em," one replied, eyes half-hidden beneath a neat fringe. At that moment, a section of the rock wall lit up and burst apart. The new Gem tumbled to the ground before them wth a groan. ". . . Here comes one of 'em!"

Delighted, Pearl stepped forward. "Oh, my stars, look at you!"

"Welcome to Earth!" Pink beamed from behind her.

"That is the first and. . . nicest thing anyone has ever said to me," the Quartz smiled back, soft eyes flicking between them.

"What's going on here?" Another light-haired Amethyst ran up to the group, hands on hips. "Our orders were to move out as soon as you emerged!"

"But. . . 8XM hasn't emerged yet," a different Amethyst replied.

"She can catch up with us later! Go! Go! Go!"

Pink began to move after them, but was quickly stopped in her tracks by Pearl. "We can come back here later. Wouldn't you like to explore some of Earth's other features?"

Pink-as-Quartz gasped. "Pearl! Yes, let's go!"

They emerged unhurried from the Kindergarten, transitioning from barren dirt to lush green grass. A light chirping filled the air. "So. . . this. . . is Earth," Pink breathed.

Vast green fields, carpeted with pink organics, and rising on the horizon, majestic purple landforms, framed by a clear blue sky.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Pearl beamed, and took her by the hand. "We have to see it all."

○○○

The day sped by. They laid together on the grass and gazed at the clouds; they gathered flowers, throwing petals into the air where it fell as pink rain; they explored the mass of tall trees, glimpsed organics in the patches of dappled light; and at one point Pink-as-Quartz made a grab at a fluttery-looking organic, which escaped her fingers and instead flew around them in circles.

They came across a flowing body of water, through which they watched slippery organics swim, and Pearl bent down to trail her fingers through the water. Then, across the banks, Pink noticed a set of figures. As she watched, the small one gathered water and walked back to the two taller shadows, disappearing again into the trees as Pearl stood up. She thought she could feel Pearl's elation falter.

They made their way back to the Kindergarten in growing shadows. There was a rumbling somewhere nearby—it seemed to come from the grey sky. As soon as they crossed from green grass to brown Kindergarten dirt, Pink stopped.

"We can't go through with this invasion," she said, voice soft.

Pearl sighed, and took her hands into her own. "I know. I didn't realise that. . . that all this life, growing wild on Earth. . . that it's going to be destroyed."

"We're not creating life from nothing," Pink murmured.

Pearl's eyes mirrored her own sadness when she answered. "We're _taking_ life, and leaving nothing behind."

There was a flash from the sky, and water began to fall in droplets from the grey overhead, pattering onto the bare rock walls of the Kindergarten, washing the dirt away in a brown wet mess.

A newly-realised Pearl and her Diamond stood, hand-in-hand, gazing out at the endless green, wondering how much longer it would last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO, as you guys must have noticed, there's been some switcheroos here. Basically, Rose is still Pink Diamond, but this time around, due to her life on Homeworld she's more skittish and soft-spoken, and because of her gentle treatment with her new Pearl, that's allowed her to become more confident, and in this AU Pearl is the leader of the rebellion and Rose is more in the role of "terrifying renegade Quartz". Garnet stays the same as a fusion, and so does Bismuth, but her love interest has changed on account of the personality changes.


	2. The Decision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pink Diamond decides to save the Earth with Pearl.

_"Why do you always do this to us, Pink?"  
_

_She closed her eyes against Blue's sharp reprimand. She would not cry this time. She would_ not _._

_"Why do you always lock me in here?" she murmured, almost to herself._

_Blue's eyes widened, and for a moment, she stopped in her tirade. Then she shook her head and her face clouded with anger. "I can't_ believe _you! You're shifting the blame onto_ me _?_ I'm _here to make sure that you behave, and still you're— projecting your responsibility onto me?"_

_And suddenly, the room was awash with blue, knocking her to her knees. A heavy, hopeless weight settled in her chest and when she opened her eyes, all she could see was a blur._

_"You're trying to blame me—blame_ Yellow _—when we do_ everything _for you! We colonise planets to give you Gems, we plan your balls, we manage your Court!—how can you be so_ selfish _, Pink?"_

 _On the floor, Pink could only sob. She_ hated _being treated like this—but did she deserve it? Was it the only way to teach her? Yellow and Blue really were doing things for her all the time . . . maybe she really was selfish._

_But it hurt too much._

_"Blue! Stop!" she pleaded, trying to wipe away the flood of tears._

_"No!" the Diamond snapped. "You're barely a few thousand years old and still you think you know better than us! If you want to be a Diamond, you have to act like one. We know what's best for you."_

_"This isn't what's best for me!"_

"Enough!"

_Abruptly, the aura faded, and Blue shot Pink a disdainful glare. "You can stay here until you're ready to apologise."_

_And she strode out, leaving Pink in the dark._

○○○

For the most part, keeping the organic lifeforms had only been a test.

Pink had wanted to see how the other Diamonds would react—and they hadn't acted favourably. Instead, she had been punished, and her Pearl taken away. Since then, she had withdrawn, grown dependent, silent.

It was only when her new Pearl had begun to find her own confidence that Pink opened up again—realised that she was, in fact, valuable. By this time, Pearl had helped her to finally realise that they would never listen to her, no matter how much she begged and pleaded. That much was evident from the rebuttals they had only recently given to her on her case for Earth.

This beautiful planet and everything on it would die, all because of her. All because of _them_.

She hated it. The only person who ever talked to her— _treated_ her like a normal person was her Pearl, and by Gem caste law she wasn't even allowed to. She was sick of being struck down herself, and watching others be degraded for what they were made as. She was sick of being confined. She was sick of being ignored.

The air above the panels in front of her still flickered, residue from her telecommunications with Yellow and Blue. Fine. If they shut her out, she would do the same.

". . . Pink? Are you okay?"

Slowly, she raised her eyes to meet Pearl's. In that moment, she could see them together, frolicking on Earth, watching the organics . . . she turned to the window. The lush planet was spread before her, masked behind whorls of cloud. As she gazed out at their world, she felt Pearl's hand settle on her arm.

"I have an idea."

Pink paused for a moment, and then turned to her, reluctantly. ". . . Yes?"

"If you become Rose Quartz again, then we can start a rebellion. We can save Earth _together_. We can escape from the Diamonds and live on our planet. We can be free."

In that moment, Pink Diamond gazed down at Pearl, at her lucid eyes, and felt herself being pulled into them. The fragility of her hand, contrasting with the strength she knew hid inside her, reminded her of how much she had changed since this amazing Gem had come into her life. In that moment, Pink Diamond thought that maybe, just maybe, she could be happy with this Gem on their beautiful planet, forever.

Her face hardened.

When she clenched her fists, closed her eyes, she could see Rose Quartz in her mind's eye, free, happy, _beautiful_ . . . and she felt her body shift, her gem rotate.

When she opened her eyes again and looked down at herself, she could see Rose Quartz's body, Rose Quartz's gem . . . _freedom_.

She took a breath and turned to her love. "Pearl, let's save our Earth."

Pearl's face broke into a wolfish grin. "I'm right by your side."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On AU differences: Blue's and Yellow's roles have also been switched, but their canon abilities remain. Their personality differences in this AU play a role in Pink Diamond's divergent withdrawn personality.


	3. Masquerade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pink Diamond upholds the guise of an autocratic leader while Pearl rallies gems for the Rebellion.

"Pink Diamond?"

The Gem in question hurriedly checked herself before taking a seat in her palanquin.

"Yes?"

A Hessonite entered and saluted. "The Nephrite fleet has landed. They are all positioned in strategic areas, as you requested."

The Pink Diamond nodded, fiddling anxiously.

"My Diamond instructed me to tell you to expect a signal from her soon."

The former let out a shaky breath.

"That is all," the Hessonite finished, and, saluting once more, she retreated through the curtains.

Pink sighed in relief, visibly slumping indelicately against her throne. Since Pearl had left a few days ago, she hadn't stopped worrying. Of course, she trusted her, but if she was caught—

It was at that moment the communications panel beeped and she turned, watching as it flashed yellow.

Pink dragged herself from her throne and padded tiredly to the back of the palanquin, settling a gloved hand on the interface and projecting a large yellow panel into the air. Yellow Diamond's pinched face gazed down at her.

". . . Where is your pearl?"

"My. . . My Pearl?" Pink stammered. "She's— picking flowers for me."

Yellow's lip curled slightly. "That's nice. But shouldn't she be attending to you?"

"She is," Pink lied. "I just— wanted something to look at. She's just outside."

Yellow Diamond frowned, looking as if she were about to say something, but then broke out into a small smile. ". . . You're doing very well, Pink."

Pink was taken aback. "I. . . I am?"

"Yes. We all think so. You're handling your first colony remarkably well. I knew you could do it!"

Pink smiled nervously. "Thank you. . ."

"Just uphold your image and direct your armies and those rebels will be crushed in no time," Yellow smiled, aiming for reassuring. Her statement had the complete opposite effect. "I'm very proud of you."

And then she was gone.

○○○

Pink Diamond was slumping against her throne, drained from yet another noble audience, when finally an ornate Pearl— _her_ Pearl—walked through the curtains. Pink practically lit up and stood, ushering her inside.

"How have you been holding up?" Pearl asked, and Pink felt something flutter in her chest.

"I've been fine," she smiled. "But these audiences are getting tiring."

Pearl gave a tight laugh. "I'm lucky I wasn't cut like you. I don't think I could handle so much attention."

Pink only prodded her playfully. "What, you? Leader of the Rebellion?"

Pearl batted her hand away and rolled her eyes. "Well, yes, that _is_ a very different kind of attention."

"And how has it been?"

And for the first time since she had left on patrol, Pearl flashed her a wide, genuine smile. Pink felt her face flush at how beautiful it was. "It's been. . . amazing." She captured Pink's gloved hands in her own, the excitement evident in her tense grip. "A Bismuth joined us today—and a whole horde of new Gems! They want to rebel with _us_! We're growing stronger!"

Pink laughed in delight. "Pearl, that _is_ amazing!"

"And they're all so. . . wonderful!" Pearl continued gleefully. "I think you'd love to meet them. Bismuth brought in pink Rubies, and a yellow _Jade_!— and, in a few weeks, Yellow will be holding an audience at the Sky Arena. Bismuth can make us weapons! I've already asked her for a few."

"A few?" Pink gave her a mischievous smile. "Just how many Gems are we talking about?"

"Oh, just us." The smaller Gem gave her a playful nudge. "Everyone else already has weapons—but I've commissioned something beautiful for you. A sword of your very own!"

"You have?" Pink practically glowed. "My own sword?"

"That way you won't have to rely on your Diamond abilities to fight," Pearl explained, and Pink nodded. She couldn't take her eyes away from Pearl's blue ones—they sparkled in delight, and Pink thought she would let herself get lost in them if she could.

"Thank you," Pink breathed. "Thank you for doing this. For us. For them. I can't wait."

With a small smile, Pearl pushed up, pulling Pink down by her hands and pressing their lips together. It was soft, and sweet, and far too quick for Pink's liking. She almost whined when Pearl pulled away again.

"Come with me," Pearl whispered. "Come see them. It will only be for a couple of days—Blue and Yellow won't notice."

The pleasant haze was driven from her mind at the mention of the older Diamonds. "But— they've been checking in on me! What if they call and I don't answer?"

"We'll just have to send a message," Pearl replied, and let go of her hands, strolling to the communications panel and tapping, swiping and dragging symbols around for a moment before there was a chime. She turned and smiled at Pink. "Done."

Pink could only watch in awe as Pearl skipped forward, taking her hand again and pulling her forward. She barely had the presence of mind to shrink down into her Quartz form before the burst out into the night air, Pearl's clothes shifting into a combat uniform before her eyes before she stopped and turned to face her seriously.

"When we finally save the Earth, it will be just you and me, together."

Pink-as-Rose felt light-headed. "Together?"

"Forever," Pearl promised.

"I couldn't wish for anything more," she whispered, and kissed her again before she was pulled off through the trees and away from her Diamond palanquin.


	4. Bubbled Bismuth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story of Bismuth's bubbling - retold.

"This is . . . nice."

Garnet lounged back in the grass, eyes closed. Dappled sunlight danced across her dark skin. "I can see us spending many hours together like this . . . figuratively. But literally, too, perhaps."

The permafusion hadn't quite integrated as a personality yet (which was evidently portrayed in her choice of dual colour, a striking blue and pink) and had yet to fully master her newfound abilities. Sapphire, Pearl thought, must find it particularly difficult to grow accustomed to the prospect of multiple possible future timelines.

"It is beautiful here," she sighed, gaze distant. There was a soft smile on her face. "I fell in love with it at first sight, and Rose. . ." she paused, blinking. ". . . Where _is_ Rose?"

She looked to Garnet, still lying calmly in the grass. She peeked one of her eyes open. "Me? Oh, uh. . ." the third eye blinked open. "Maybe . . . she could return soon from border patrol, or flower picking. . ."

"Flower picking," Pearl mulled. "Oh, that's right! She went to check in on Bismuth's collecting for me. Perhaps she's at the Forge right now."

Garnet made a non-committal sound, and Pearl laughed and stood. "I'll go and see. I won't be long."

○○○ **  
**

"—And finally, I polished it all over with resin, to protect the blade . . . but also to make it pretty."

Rose padded along behind the babbling blacksmith, unable to focus her attention on any one thing. The Forge was strewn with weapons and parts, stacked against the walls, piled on makeshift benches, and scattered on the floor. She stepped over a dulled sword delicately.

"So . . . what _is_ this new tool you've been ranting about? Pearl's getting impatient."

Bismuth shot her a look over her shoulder and grinned. "Just you wait 'til you see it."

They came to a stop next to a rounded platform ringed with clay figures. Rose turned to a nearby bench and picked up a small tool.

She turned it over in her hands, admiring the way the sliver of metal shone.

"Ta-daaa!"

She looked up to find Bismuth wielding a large cylindrical . . . thing. It was almost like an arm cannon, with straps to secure to one's arm, and a menacing pointed blade on the end.

"This, is the Breaking Point. I've been working on this baby for months! Whaddya think?"

Rose didn't know why, but suddenly she felt queasy. "What . . . does it do, exactly?"

"I'll show you." With a flourish, Bismuth spun and put it against the gem marking on the closest figurine. She pulled the trigger.

With a loud _BANG!_ , the point shot through the clay. When Bismuth moved aside, Rose could see the far wall through the huge hole. The discarded clay lay in clumps on the ground.

She felt sick.

"See how much _power_ this thing has? Look at that! And it didn't even take any effort. We could down _thousands_ of Homeworld Gems like this!"

Bismuth stood tall, a triumphant grin on her face. The Forge was silent for a moment.

"Bismuth, I . . . we can't use that."

Bismuth stared at her for a moment, uncomprehending, and then chuckled.

"Aw, you worry too much! _As if_ Pearl wouldn't use this stone-cold ba—"

"Bismuth." Her voice came louder this time, and she stepped forward, steeling herself. "We can't. . . you know Pearl's policy. We _can't do this_. We can't shatter Gems. We. . ." she fell quiet for a moment. ". . .We can't stoop to the Diamonds' level." _And we can't shatter them, either._

The blacksmith looked like she'd just been slapped. "But— we have to! They're out to kill us! The Diamonds have shattered _hundreds_ of us! We need to shatter _them_ before they—"

"What's happening in here?" came Pearl's voice, and they both spun around guiltily. The slender Gem strode down the aisle and stopped by them. "Oh, Bismuth! Is that the new weapon?"

"Ah— yes! Yes," she said, moving forward. "This is the _Breaking Point_! Whatcha think? This thing is so powerful, it can shatter gems in one hit!"

Pearl was quiet for a moment. "You're. . . not thinking of shattering, are you?"

Bismuth looked taken aback. She glanced disbelievingly between her two companions. "You're not— You don't think this is what we _need_?"

Rose looked to her helplessly, and Pearl opened her mouth. "It's against what we do, Bismuth. We're Crystal Gems."

"But—we've lost so many soldiers!" Bismuth fought, voice strained. "The Diamonds— they shatter Gems all the time! If we can't get even with them, they'll take us down, Pearl."

Rose withdrew on herself, eyes wide and afraid. As Bismuth watched, Pearl approached her and took her hands in her own dainty ones. Her voice was cold when she spoke. "We will not be shattering anyone, Bismuth. Not even the Diamonds. If that's what you want to do, you can do it by yourself. But not as one of us."

Bismuth stared at her, shocked. Her eyes flicked to Rose—her friend, her confidant, someone she had previously seen as perhaps something more—and then back to Pearl. She stood tall and straight, expression determined.

She felt something flicker in her chest. Hurt. Anger. And then she locked eyes with Rose.

"But _you_ shattered Pink Diamond."

The other Gem froze.

"Doesn't that make you worse than any of us?" The blacksmith's voice was soft, her eyes hurt. "You killed her. But you stand by Pearl in saying that we can't protect ourselves?"

Rose let out what sounded like a choked sob, and Pearl stepped in front of her. "Bismuth, that's _enough_."

"I wasn't asking _you_ ," Bismuth hissed, and looked again to her friend. " _Rose_ —you shattered Pink Diamond, because you _had_ to! Help me out here—we need power like this!"

Rose didn't speak.

Bismuth stepped forward.

In a flash, Pearl was standing with her feet apart, brandishing her two swords.

"Bismuth." Her tone was a warning. "This is over. We will not be shattering Gems."

Bismuth hefted her own weapon in defense. "You're sentencing the Crystal Gems to death! Every one of us!"

"Bismuth," Rose pleaded.

"Rose, you were right," the other replied, and stepped forward, raising the weapon higher. "The only way we can be free is to get rid of the Diamonds. _All_ of them."

She swung the Breaking Point.

Rose gasped, shoving Pearl aside, gem flaring—

Bismuth gaped at her, halted in her tracks. Rose's pink blade had buried itself a mere inch below her multicoloured gem, and over her shoulder Rose could see the tip protruding from her exposed back.

"Bismuth," she whispered, voice strangled.

Bismuth's form dissipated in a billow of smoke and her gem thunked loudly to the ground. The Breaking Point clattered from where it had been held to her chest to the ground.

She gazed down at her own unblemished gem sitting against her navel. She turned to Pearl. The gem against her forehead glinted in the firelight.

Trembling, Rose kneeled and took the patterned metal into her hands. It was still warm against her skin.

There was scraping behind her, and then footsteps, and then Pearl's slim fingers lifted the gem from her hands. Swiftly, she bubbled it and sent it away.

Rose gazed up at her from the ground. ". . . Pearl?"

Pearl exhaled and knelt down in front of her, again taking Rose's hands into her own tiny ones. "We can't talk about this. It would crush them."

Them. Garnet. Ruby and Sapphire. Biggs. Crazy Lace. Snowflake.

"You understand, don't you?"

Rose lifted her head and opened her mouth to speak, but her voice caught in her throat when she saw her own reflection in Pearl's soft eyes.

She had done it for her.

Eyes dropping back down to their clasping hands, she found she had no argument to give.

○○○

It was barely an hour later when Yellow Diamond's soldiers descended.

Garnet, Pearl and Rose were forced to cluster together, back-to-back, sanctioned off from their allies across the glade. With a unified flash of light, Pearl summoned her spear and Garnet's heavy gauntlets materialised over her fists.

When Rose dew her sword, the others eyed the efficient blade glinting in the dusky light. Pearl froze, eyes locked on the weapon.

"Where's Bismuth?" Garnet shouted as her gauntlets clashed against metal.

Rose summoned her shield and stepped in front of Pearl, providing a protective barrier between her and the battle raging around them.

"Rose!"

She jerked back at Pearl's warning call, narrowly avoiding the path of a jabbing knife.

A growling Ruby leapt at her from the right and she turned, deflecting the blow and shielding Garnet. From her blindside, silhouetted from the sun, emerged a burly, broad-shouldered Gem. The other Homeworld soldiers withdrew, sighting the Lapis Lazuli (gem) clenched in her fist. The geometric spiral centred on her chest caught in the low light.

"Bismuth," she heard Pearl murmur.

And then another Homeworld soldier lunged forward, and Pearl cried out, dissipating in a cloud of smoke. Rose screamed.

○○○

They had escaped with the majority of the Crystal Gems to yet another hideout. Pearl had reformed soon afterward and disappeared.

In the days she was absent Rose found herself growing restless, and turned to the group's resident fusion. "Garnet, do you know where Pearl is?"

Garnet had adjusted her visor and thought for a moment. ". . . I think I can guess."

Rose found Pearl hunched by the freshwater stream that ran past their new base, gazing into the water as she so often did. She sat down beside her to trail her toes in the water, a quiet question leaving her lips. "May I?" After a moment, Pearl nodded and shifted over.

They sat like that for a few tense minutes, side-by-side, leaning into the gentle breeze, until Pearl spoke.

". . . I'm sorry."

Rose turned and blinked at her, eyes wide.

"Bismuth. . . I know it's hard. But she could have—" Rose held her breath. ". . . They're your family, Rose. I couldn't let her."

"I know," she replied, voice barely a whisper, eyes dropping back to her feet.

"I'm so sorry," Pearl said again, and when Rose looked up, she saw a drop slide down her pale cheek.

Rose didn't break the quiet that followed. Instead, she shifted a little closer and wrapped Pearl in her arms.

The smaller Gem tensed for a second, but when Rose didn't break away, she relaxed against her. As the light faded, neither of them moved. They remained alone together, and together alone.

When Garnet came hours later to retrieve them, she found not two Gems sitting on the banks, but one, her bare toes dipping into the water, her creamy tresses drifting in the breeze.

○○○

Rainbow Quartz broke apart again only a few hours later.

Garnet had gazed up at her with trusting eyes, and asked her one question.

Now Rose was sitting alone in the base, skirts bunched in tight fists. Her hands trembled and nausea coiled in her chest. A nausea that had been growing ever since she left Spinel.

But she had an excuse for that, didn't she? Spinel hadn't wanted to grow up. She hadn't _listened_. She was just like them—and just like her. Too young. Too immature. Too innocent. But loved by the other Diamonds, just the same.

They hadn't treated _Spinel_ like they had her. That was why, upon Pearl's encouragement, it had been so easy to leave her behind; the contempt had driven her, had allowed her to forget about her mistakes for decades.

But now, as they resurfaced, she was finding it harder and harder to ignore them.

She buried her face in her hands. Bismuth had been self- _defence_ —and yet she had said nothing. But she couldn't be blamed for not wanting to fight, for not wanting to shatter, for wanting to protect Pearl, could she?

". . . Pink?"

Only one other Gem knew. She exhaled shakily. "Pearl."

Her companion's quiet concern was evident as she sat down next to her. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for this."

She looked away, hiding under her raspberry fringe. "With Bismuth, and the shattering, and Spinel. . . it's too much."

Pearl gingerly placed her hand over Rose's fist. "You can tell them if you need to."

Rose was mortified. "But— No! It would split the Crystal Gems up!"

"I know."

"Then I can't."

They sat in silence for a while.

". . . Pearl?"

"Yes?"

"Am. . . Am I like. . . _them_?"

She seemed confused. "The Diamonds?"

"Yes."

"No," came her immediate reply. "You were always different. You listened to me. You always cared more about the other Gems—and that's why all your subjects adored you." She was quiet for a moment. "And that's why you're special to me."

Rose forced a pitiful laugh. "Not because I used to be your Diamond?"

"Of course not." Pearl paused for a moment, and then leaned up, brushing aside the pink hair. Rose started, looking down at her, and was surprised when suddenly her lips were upon her own. She didn't move away. Instead, when Pearl's hands snaked through her hair, she melted into the touch, mind blissfully blank.

When Pearl pulled away, she gave her a small smile and stood, holding out a hand. "Are you ready to come back?"

As Rose gazed up at her, she felt herself flush. That hadn't been the first time, but. . . the things she would do to have her do it again.

Hazily, she reached out and took the slender hand. "Yes. I think so."

○○○

The relief was short-lived. Garnet sprang on her as soon as she saw her.

"Bismuth?" She asked again. "Have you seen her? I've been checking future timelines—but I can't find her in any of them."

"Oh. Bismuth." Pearl's tone was flat, exhausted, and Rose took her hand. She seemed to appreciate the gesture as she relaxed just a little. "Bismuth. . . we lost her."

"Lost. . .?" Garnet said dubiously.

"The battle yesterday. She went into it, I'm sure I saw her, but I don't know where she went afterwards."

Ambiguity was the thin line separating them from despair, keeping them from tarnished relationships, and Rose cautiously stepped in. "But . . . she'll probably find her way back sooner or later, right? You know Bismuth. She gets distracted."

Garnet nodded hesitantly, and Pearl gave her a small smile. "I'm sure she's fine. Don't worry about her too much."

Garnet paused for a moment, mulling it over, before her beseeching eyes landed on Rose. "You think she'll be back soon. . .?"

The Quartz shut her eyes when she answered. "Yes. Soon."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Addressing the AU changes: Bismuth stays the same, but her love interest has changed on account of the personality changes.


	5. The Corruption

Pearl strained, struggling to push her spear and the axe embedded in it up, her back against the ground. The Quartz soldier looming above her grinned menacingly.

A few paces away, her notorious sidekick, Rose Quartz, succeeded in toppling another Homeworld warrior, hurriedly jabbing and poofing them with her sword. Their gem clinked harmlessly to the grass.

She caught a light out of the corner of her eye and she stopped, squinting up at the sky. Her gem flared in recognition, and she straightened, standing confused in the middle of a raging battlefield as the lights glimmered above her.

Three beams—one white, one yellow and one blue. As she watched them grow brighter with a sinking feeling in her stomach, she felt her hand tingle and glanced down in alarm to find it encased in a pink light, ready to fire at the sky in defense, or perhaps responding to the call of assistance.

Horrified, she squashed the tingling, extinguishing her hand, and guiltily covered her glowing gem with a hand. Glancing around, she zeroed in on her companions, noting with relief that the two closest were Pearl and Garnet. With a twinge of regret, she wheeled around, scanning the field for more of their allies, but couldn't find any. Hurriedly sheathing her own sword in her gem, she raised her arms and threw up a wide shield.

The lights were growing brighter—there wasn't much time left. Spinning to the right, she lunged forward and hurriedly poofed the Quartz standing over Pearl with a pink blast. Pearl remained on the ground, gaping up at her. "Rose!— You can't do that here!"

Without so much as a reply, Rose grabbed her by the hand and yanked her up, taking her into her arms and pulling her quickly behind the shield. Now lurching to the left, she grabbed Garnet around the waist with a firm arm, the fusion giving a cry of alarm as Rose cowered back behind the shield, kneeling down and holding her friends close.

The lights above _burst_ , flooding the sky with a bright white.

 _"Don't listen,"_ Rose hissed, and her friends snuggled into her sides, shutting their minds to the eerie song as it reached them.

○○○

The light subsided, and Rose let them go, falling forward onto her knees with a gasp. The shield dissipated.

The last echoes of song were fading as Garnet lurched across and tackled Pearl in a hug. "Thank the stars," the fusion sighed, and set her down, letting her visor fade away as she gazed at her with three concerned, mismatched eyes. "Pearl, are you alright? What— what _was_ that? I— I didn't see it!"

"The Diamonds," Rose breathed, and they turned to her, still trembling on her hands and knees. "They attacked— I— I _should_ have known! I should have— this is because Pink Diamond's—!"

Pearl's eyes blew wide, and she felt her chest clench.

Garnet stepped forward, summoning her visor and kneeling beside the Quartz, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Rose, it's okay. You didn't know. _I_ didn't know— I should have seen it."

"No, you shouldn't have!" Pearl now cried from behind. Her legs felt like jelly. "Because you don't know! You couldn't know!"

Garnet only turned and gazed at her steadily, a soft question in her eyes. After a moment, Pearl took a deep breath. "You. . . You put too much weight on your own shoulders. You can't be expected to know everything."

"And just because you're our leader, that doesn't mean you have to get everything right."

Pearl was silent for a moment, then nodded miserably. Beside Garnet, Rose buried her face in her hands as her shoulders shook.

"Should we collect the poofed gems?" Garnet asked, voice soft.

Rose hurriedly wiped at her face. "Yes— of course. Pearl?"

It was an effort for the shorter Gem to answer. ". . . It's the least we can do."

Garnet stood slowly and padded the few steps to the gem her Rose had poofed minutes earlier, nestled in the dry grass. As she knelt down to pick it up, she noticed something. . . different.

". . . Pearl?"

Her leader looked up. "Yes?"

The fusion took the gem into her hands, examining it carefully. It wasn't cracked; on the contrary, it was as smooth as ever. But. . . ". . . It's a different colour. What does that mean?"

Rose's head jerked up. "What?"

"Look." She held the gem out in her hands, glinting in the weak starlight. "This is a Beryl. . . pink. But. . . it has green on it."

"What? How?" Rose said sharply, moving forward and taking the gem. She too scrutinised it. "This is. . . but it's not cracked? Not damaged?"

Garnet shook her head, and Pearl stepped forward to take it into her own hands. She turned to the fusion with a worried look. "Can you see anything? What's wrong with it?"

Garnet paused for a moment, visor glinting. It was a few seconds before her face drained of colour. "It's. . . corrupted."

"Corrupted?" Pearl asked, shocked, and wheeled around, this time to Rose. "What does that mean?"

". . . Pearl," the Quartz whispered, and raised a finger to point. Her two companions followed her direction.

A dozen yards away, a Gem was reforming. It floated in the air, fluorescent, moulding the Gem's new shape— but something was incredibly wrong. Where they expected to see a humanoid form, some sort of monster hovered with the gem at its core. When the light cleared and it thumped to the ground, all four Crystal Gems recoiled in shock.

What stood startlingly close to them looked like some vaguely avian, bipedal creature with a spattering of eyes on its furry head and lolling three enormous, grotesque tongues. With an earth-rumbling screech, it turned tail and sprinted off, receding quickly into the line of trees.

The poofed Beryl fell from numb fingers. The light was gone from somewhere deep in Pearl's eyes.

"This isn't what I wanted," she breathed.

"I knew the Diamonds—the light—would hurt them, but—" Rose began to sob, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. "I didn't know it meant _this_!"

"This. . . This can't be permanent, right?" Pearl asked, frantic. "I. . . I just wanted to be free. To live on Earth. To free other Gems! I—" She spun around. "I didn't mean to do this! We can fix this, right? I can fix this! Rose, you can heal them!"

"Pearl," Garnet ventured cautiously.

"No, it's okay! I can fix this. We just need to. . . to collect all these Gems, and then I can. . . we can build a fountain. We'll make a healing spring with Rose's tears and we'll fix all of these Gems. Just like we do all the time! And then it'll be okay."

 _"Pearl,"_ Garnet pushed, with a little more force. Their leader stopped, frightened eyes settling on the fusion. "Pearl. . . they're gone."

"But. . .!" Tears threatening to spill, Pearl swiped an arm across her eyes. "Maybe. Maybe. . . but I can still try. Okay? This is _my fault_. I can still try. We can try."

A few paces away, Rose sank to her knees and wailed. Where salted tears dripped to the grass, it grew and flowered. Small red fruits swelled on the flourishing bushes. A garden in the centre of a deadly battlefield.


	6. Like A Comet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PROMPT: "I want a story with Greg and Pearl in a romantic relationship without Pearl dying" — for AmberAkatsuki on Fanfiction.net! Well, technically Pearl does "die" in this AU but. . . I hope you will enjoy regardless! :)

It was the summer of 1995 and Greg's last show in Beach City. It wasn't much of a city, to be honest, but Marty had insisted that playing in tourist towns was all part of the strategy.

This latest show had turned out to be a flop. No one had showed up. While he had lost himself in his music, now that it was finished, he could feel the disappointment seeping in.

But then, when he lifted his head, he saw a slim figure standing near the back row. They were clapping.

After a bumbling speech about the deserted CD-and-merch stand Greg switched off the microphone and jumped down to man the desk. The woman wondered over—her skin was smooth porcelain, the white gem against her forehead framed with peach tufts, and blue eyes wide and lucid—and she picked up a CD, flashing him a smile.

" _Space Train to the Cosmos_ ," she read.

"—Yeah," Greg stammered. Her clothes were very colourful, if outdated by a decade or so. _"One-way ticket and I'm ready to ride!"_

She gazed at him with interested eyes. "How will you get back?"

Greg was confused. "Back?"

"Back to Earth."

"I'm never comin' back," he grinned, leaning back on his chair.

The woman gasped. "That's awful!—This is your home."

"Uhh. . . you want that?" He gestured to the CD in her hands. "You can have it!"

"Hm?" The woman seemed surprised.

"Oh—and it comes with a free T-shirt!" He glanced around for the shirts, but realised with a groan that he'd left them behind. "Uh—I've got some in my van, stay right there!"

Jumping up from the fold-out chair, he ran to van, throwing the back doors open, and then jumped back in surprise.

His manager, Marty, landed on the sand in front of him with a blonde lady on his arm. "Starchild!" he tossed his head, as if he had any hair to flick back, and smirked. "Meet Vidalia."

Vidalia blew a bubble of pink gum. "Nice van. Really livin' the high life."

"So, how was the show?" Marty asked, sounding utterly disinterested.

"It was great! One person showed up. Oh!" He pushed forward, grabbing a printed garment off the van floor and turning around. "I have to give her this free—T-shirt. . ."

The beach was empty. She was nowhere to be seen.

"Greg!" Marty's voice was sharp, and he turned around. "You can't give stuff out for free! What about my seventy-five percent? Seventy-five percent of nothing is nothing. Are _you_ worth nothing?"

"No," Greg sighed.

"That's right. I'm gonna make us both rich." He leant forward to whisper in Greg's ear. "And as far as these saltwater saps know, we already are." He stepped back and put an arm around Vidalia's shoulders, flashing what he thought was a charming smile. "So let's live it up before we hit the road, alright? Next stop, Empire City!"

Greg gazed after him as he trudged off with the girl. "You know, I'll catch up with you."

Beach City was a small town—less than ten minutes of walking on the boardwalk later, he found himself at a high mesh fence barring off the shore. **KEEP OFF BEACH** , the metal sign read, with a smaller, mellow wooden sign tacked beneath: _PLEASE!_ , dotted with cartoon flowers.

Ignoring the signs, he craned to look down the beach and, poking out from the rocky cliff face shooting up from the sand, he thought he could make out what looked like large stone limbs. The remnants of a statue, maybe?

"Maybe she's over there?" he said to no one in particular.

"Hoo?" cooed the purple-tinted owl perched on the fence, and Greg smiled.

"Ah—just some mysterious colourful lady with a gemstone on her forehead." He laughed to himself and craned up to the bird. "You haven't seen anyone like that around, have ya?"

The owl turned to meet his eyes. "Sure have!"

He startled. He hadn't expected an actual reply! The bird's voice was high, like a child's, or a young teenager's. "Who—Where?"

The owl huffed out a laugh and turned completely to face him. It had what looked like a purple gemstone nestled into its breast feathers. "Well, that's a secret!" It threw him a wink and the flew off, _hoo_ ing and laughing.

 _"Hey!"_ he called, and without a second thought, he scaled the mesh fence. "Wait—hold on a sec!" After thumping painfully to the sand on the other side, he heaved himself up and ran after the chuckling owl. It lead him to the statue— _a giant woman!_ —and flew between its cupped hands into what looked like a cave. He huffed up the sandy slope after it, and as he drew closer, he heard the voice again.

"This long-haired human was talking to me over by the fence!"

"You mean it _spoke_ to you?" came another voice, tinged with excitement.

"He was asking about Pearl!"

He peered around and into the cave to find a tall figure, at least eight feet tall and with a waterfall of pink curly hair, wearing a floor-length, layered dress and speaking to the purple owl perched on her arm. A faceted pink gemstone glinted against her navel. Greg's sandal squeaked on smooth stone and the bird turned with a toothy grin. Scary. "Look! There he is!"

"Yo," he called, awkwardly.

With a giggle, the owl flapped and launched off the woman's arm, landing easily on the ground in front of him. Suddenly it went white and shifted into human form, and then a white-haired purple child was grinning up at him. "Hey, it's you!"

He stayed planted to the sand where he stood, and offered a small smile. The girl hopped down and strode the few paces to him, examining him with an interested eyes. "I've never seen this one around here before," she called to the pink-haired lady, and then, "Ohh, I really like your hair!"

"Hello!" the pink-haired lady smiled, gliding over. "What are you doing here?"

The purple girl by his side took a tuft of his hair and twirled it around her finger. "Amethyst!" Pink Hair laughed, and came forward to scoop her up in her arms.

It was at that moment the blue platform inside the statue chimed and shot a beam of light into the air, sending Greg's and Pink Hair's locks billowing in some sort of synthetic wind.

 _"Whoa!"_ he cried, squinting into the brightness.

Another tall figure (a head shorter than Pink Hair, it must be said) materialised on the platform and the light dissipated. She had a head of cubic hair and wore a reflective visor, her skin a deep purple, and as she lowered her hands, Greg could see a cut gemstone in each palm.

The figure gasped and spoke in a low tone. "Rose, Amethyst, you're with a human. . ."

"He followed me over the fence," Amethyst chirped excitedly.

"He's very nice," Pink Hair— _Rose_ —smiled.

The newest woman stepped up to him, so close he could see his reflection in her visor. He could feel her eyes boring through him from behind the visor. "State your purpose," she said.

"Uhhh, I was kind of looking for the mysterious pale lady? Something on her forehead, all these colourful clothes? And legwarmers?

"Legwarmers?" Rose murmured.

"See?" Amethyst said, looking up at her guardian from her place in her arms. "He's talking about Pe—"

Rose clamped a hand over her mouth before she could say anything else, flashing Greg a nervous grin.

The other tall lady seemed to pick up on her hesitance and spoke. "I'll just throw him back over the fence."

"Huh? Oh— _whoa!_ " Greg cried out as she lifted him effortlessly above her head.

"Wait!" Rose cried. "Don't hurt him! He's—He's harmless!"

"Please, no throwing!" Greg cried, kicking his legs in a panic.

_"Garnet!"_

They all four turned at the voice, and from the statue-cave emerged the colourful lady from before. Her eyes were wide. "Mr Universe?"

"It's you," he said, in awe, and then thumped to the ground with a loud _ow!_ when his captor dropped him.

The colourful lady padded over to him, shawl bouncing on her shoulders, and then she leant down and held out a hand. "Are you alright?"

He took the hand, speechless as he gazed at her small—almost shy—smile.

Rose's incredulous voice interrupted them. "Wait, you know him already? Why didn't you tell us?"

"He was playing a concert on the beach just tonight and I couldn't help myself," Mystery Woman replied softly, and pulled him to his feet.

 _Time to turn on that Universe charm!_ "No one could ignore the Universe," he said, flipping his hair, and then remembered the shirt. "Oh! I brought you this! It's the free T-shirt that came with the free CD!"

She took it with enthusiasm. "Why, thank you!"

The others crowded around her to look, and she turned the shirt so they could see. "His act is space," she whispered.

Rose gave a giggle.

"Hey, why don't you play something?" Amethyst cried from where she clung to Mystery Woman's legs.

The woman with the visor lifted her fist and suddenly it was encased in a deadly-looking gauntlet. "Better make it good," she said.

"Aw man, I'm workin' on this awesome new set—it's gonna kill at my next show!" he cried, and then paused. "My next show. . . aw jeez, what time is it?"

"Nighttime," Rose suggested helpfully, glancing at the sky.

"Yeah, Marty's probably lookin' for me. We're supposed to hit the road—it's a big show, in a big city. . . and I didn't drop outta community college for nothin'!"

"What's that?" Rose asked with interest.

"Well," said Mystery Woman, with another small smile, "You better hurry. You don't want to miss your space train to the cosmos."

Greg threw her a wink. "Okay! I'll see you later!" he took a few running steps, and then stopped. "Uh, I hope the stars will align for us to meet again!"

"What do you think, Garnet?" Mystery Woman asked, nudging Visor Lady.

"Byebye! Good luck!" Amethyst cried.

He waved one last time and turned to go.

"You know, I can sing too," he heard Rose murmur behind him.

A fit of giggles ensued.

○○○

No more than an hour later Greg's van crashed back through the mesh fence, revving through sand and pulling up outside the statue-cave. Grabbing his guitar, he jumped out and ran the few paces into the shelter. It was empty.

He ran to the door set into the far wall and knocked. "Hey, are you in there? I can play for you now, I even revamped my awesome set!"

Glancing around, his eyes settled on the blue portal-pad. _Perfect._ With a flourish, he stepped up onto it and brandished his guitar. "This one's for you, Mystery Woman!"

 _"Do you believe in destiny? Close your eyes and leave the rest to me. Do you believe in fantasy? I have to when it's right in front of me, oh—"_ The chords and his voice melted together in a sweet harmony—a serenade. Who said romance was dead? _"What are you doing here, in the real world?"_ He felt himself drawn to the sealed door, and he tentatively stepped from the portal-pad and drifted to the door. _"What are you doing here, so close I could touch you?"_

As he waited for a response, the strums picked up speed, and he sunk to his knees; _"What are you doing here? And what are you doing to me?"_

Blue light blossomed behind his closed eyelids and he opened them, startled, to find the door opening. A figure stood, silhouetted in bright cyan light.

He gasped in delight. "You're wearing my—" as the light cleared, he found that her expression had fallen. ". . . shirt . . ."

"Please leave," she said, voice strained, and stepped out of the doorway.

Greg felt himself flush. Had he done something wrong? "I-I'm sorry, did I—?"

Mystery Woman sighed. "You're awfully endearing." The door slid shut behind her and she crossed her arms. "But your life is short and you have so much potential—I won't let you give up on everything you want, on account of myself."

He hung his head. "Well, that's gonna be a problem."

"Huh?"

He lifted his head again with a flourish and a smile. " _You're_ everything I want!"

She froze, cheeks tingeing blue, and then began to laugh, light and airy. Her laughter mingled with the soft chords he strummed on his guitar, floating out and into the coastal breeze.


	7. Three Gems and a Baby

Rose Quartz blinked, staring down at the tiny creature. "He's so. . . small!"

Greg nodded. "Humans don't start out like Gems. We're born small, and then over the years we grow."

"But shouldn't he be ready for life on Earth?" she asked, seemingly dumbfounded. The pearl on his forehead glinted. "He's so vulnerable."

"Well. . . yeah," the man said, puzzled. "Human babies rely on their parents until they develop. In the meantime, they just sort of. . . sit around. And eat. And sleep."

"Do they use the toilet you you big guys do?" Amethyst asked, poking at the baby. He giggled.

"Uhhh. . . kind of?" Greg replied. "Don't you guys know _anything_ about babies?"

The three Gems stared at him.

"Oh boy, I guess not," he said, rubbing his balding head.

"Hey, baby," Amethyst called to the helpless creature. "What's your favourite food?"

"Uh. . . he can't talk yet," Greg explained, looking baffled.

Amethyst was gobsmacked. "He can't _talk_? How come _you_ can?"

"We learn. We learn to talk and walk and go to the toilet and all that stuff as we grow up."

"Ohhh," Amethyst said, still looking confused.

"Do you play games with him?" Rose asked, wiggling her fingers over the baby. He laughed and reached out to grab them. She felt something twang in her chest.

"Yeah, when he's not sleeping. He usually just likes to look around."

"And what did you name him, again?" Rose asked, gazing down at the giggling thing.

"Steven."

"Steven," she droned, feeling the name on her tongue. She wondered, would Pearl have liked it?

"Awww, how cuuutee!" Amethyst fawned.

Greg chuckled. "Yeah, I guess."

"'Steven' will soon need a nap," Garnet broke in, adjusting her visor. "We should go back to the Temple."

"Oh no, it's fine, really, you can stay as long as you want," Greg assured.

Almost hesitantly, Rose turned away. "Greg's right. We should give them some time together."

Greg raked a hand through his hair and stood when Steven gave a jaw-cracking yawn, cradling him in both arms. "Alright, sure. I'll see ya! I better go put sleepyhead to bed."

"Is that his other name?" Amethyst asked Garnet.

"No, his other name is 'Cutie-Pie'," Garnet said. Her visor glinted.

○○○

After their near-abduction of the baby, the Gems made a point of visiting almost on a daily basis. Though Rose remained friendly and helpful, playing games with the baby when Greg needed a break, Garnet often caught her gazing at the smooth gemstone against his forehead.

It was midsummer when Greg called on them to babysit Steven so he could take a break.

"You mean, we sit on him? Like birds?" Amethyst asked.

_"No,"_ Greg had said, appalled.

He briefed the Gems on babycare on his way out. While Rose listened intently, Garnet by her side, Amethyst was inevitably distracted.

"Can we play with him yet?" Amethyst whined.

Greg only chuckled. "He's still stuck on the keys, I'm afraid. But sometimes I tell him stories about his mom. It helps him get to sleep."

"Thank you, Greg," Rose said, faintly. _Pearl would much rather have told him stories herself._

"So. . . don't get too freaked out if he starts crying, okay? If you're really worried, you can call me. On Vidalia's house phone. I've left my number on the notepad on the coffee table."

"A table made of coffee?" Amethyst whispered to Garnet.

Greg sighed. "Oh boy— y'know, I'm starting to think I shouldn't go out tonight."

"You need some time off, Greg," Garnet assured, again adjusting her visor. "Everything will be fine."

He gazed at her for a moment, uncertain, and drew a breath. "I hope so. . . just, don't forget to call me if you can't handle it, okay?"

"We promise," she replied, solemn.

The Gems made their way inside and watched from the window as Greg drove off. Steven was coddled in a crib by the couch, and they gathered around the baby.

He was wide awake. Warm brown eyes stared up at them, and he sneezed, accidentally spitting out his pacifier.

Rose started when it bounced off her chest and landed in her unsuspecting hands. Amethyst snorted. "Awesome catch."

"Hello, Steven," Garnet cooed, kneeling down beside the crib. She let her visor fade away and Steven stared into her three mismatched eyes, giving a delighted cry.

"Aw, he likes you already," Amethyst whined. "That's not fair! I bet he'd like _me_ more." She stepped up to the crib and wiggled her own fingers over his face, making him giggle as he threw his hands up to swat at them.

_"Hah,"_ Amethyst said, triumphantly.

Beside them, Rose softened a little, and stepped closer, peering down into the crib. Upon seeing her, Steven gave another delighted cry and held his hands out. Cautiously, Rose moved a little closer and held a finger out, imitating Amethyst, and the baby immediately latched onto it in his strong little hands.

_"Oh!"_ Rose cried, dropping the pacifier, and let out an unexpected giggle.

Amethyst pouted from the other side of the crib.

"That's Rose," Garnet supplied to the baby, voice gentle.

The baby cooed and dropped his hands, interested eyes boring into the Quartz intently. She thought she saw them moved behind her for a moment before he smiled, and, in a brilliant moment of word association, said: _"Ma."_

Amethyst gasped. "How did you make him do that? Greg said he can't talk yet!"

"It looks like little Steven's learned his first word," Garnet smiled.

Rose was speechless. His first word was. . . her? She took a glance at the smooth pearl fitted below his hairline.

"Aw, what!" Amethyst stuck her face over the side of the crib. "I'm Amethyst! _A-meh-thyst._ "

He gazed at her for a moment, deciding, and then turned back to Rose. _"Ma!"_

Rose smiled, letting a tiny laugh bubble forth. "He's. . . adorable."

"We should call Greg," Garnet suggested. "I'm sure he'd like to know."

Rose turned, face pinched. "Uh. . . are you sure? Greg said. . . to only call for an emergency."

"This is still important," Garnet replied coolly.

Hesitantly, Rose stepped away from the crib to pad to the phone.

 _"Ma! Ma!"_ came the loud call from the blankets. She abruptly turned back.

"Hey. . . Steven," she managed, voice soft.

_"Ma!"_ he said again.

Rose looked conflicted, turning halfway back to the phone. "I'm just going to call Greg—"

_"Ma ma ma!"_

"I think he wants you," Garnet said. Her expression didn't give anything away.

". . . Me?" Rose pivoted, reaching out, and then withdrew her hand again. "Why?"

Garnet shrugged.

_"Maaaaaaa!"_

With a sigh, she returned and reached over. "What do you want, Steven?"

_"Ma,"_ he said stubbornly. His eyes drifted over her shoulder. _"Ma,"_ he said again.

Rose turned. Mounted on the wall behind her was a profile portrait of Pearl, creams and soft blues blended in light brush strokes. That painting had been her idea— _"Something to remember you by."_ —but she hadn't actually expected for Pearl to disappear. Torn, she turned back to the baby, stepping aside.

_"Ma,"_ he repeated, eyes on the portrait. He looked at Rose, held out his arms, and whined.

"He wants you to pick him up," Garnet said, and gave her a nudge.

"Wh?—" Rose felt something helpless settle in her chest. She gazed at the baby, forlorn.

"C'mon, Rose!" In a flash, Amethyst grabbed him and strode over, shoving him into her arms. Rose almost dropped him in her surprise.

She gazed down at the creature with wide eyes, waiting for him to do something. After a few seconds of stillness, he reached out and took a hold of her hair, tiny fingers clenching around a strawberry ringlet. On a hunch, she slowly let him go and left him hanging by her hair, giggling.

Garnet stepped up and gently took him into her arms, easing his grip on Rose's hair. "We have to be careful with him," she reminded.

"I've— I've seen Greg do that before," Rose returned, quietly. "I thought it might be alright."

The fusion laid a soft hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. We just want to make sure we keep him safe until Greg gets back." She cradled him for a little, and then smiled. "He's very light. He's even lighter than you, Amethyst."

"That's because _I_ eat proper food," Amethyst scoffed. "He only eats goo!"

In a fit of inspiration, Garnet held him under the arms, and extended her own, showing him to the Gems. "Look! This is your family."

"Don't drop him," Rose cautioned.

Seemingly flustered, Garnet drew him back in again. Rose smiled to think of her components' conflicting interests.

"Garnet Garnet, can I hold him?" Amethyst shuffled a little closer, holding her arms out eagerly.

"Of course," she smiled, and gingerly transferred the baby. Amethyst's eyes blew wide.

"You're right, he _is_ light! He's like, even smaller than the burrito I had the other day!"

Rose rolled her eyes fondly. "I can't believe you fit that whole thing inside you."

"It's a gift," Amethyst informed, and then sniffed, looking down at the baby. "Hey. . . how do we clean this thing?"

○○○

Six months later, and the Gems were at Vidalia's, throwing a party for Steven. Greg planned to move into his van in the coming months, so they decided they should spoil the baby while he still had wriggle-room.

"I can't believe he's a year old already," Garnet gushed.

"We got him keys!" Amethyst declared, handing Greg a large gift box. When he took the lid off, he squinted at the pile inside, reaching almost to the top of the box.

"Uhh, guys, thanks, but I don't think he needs this many keys." Gingerly, he reached inside, plucking out a jingling carabiner and examining the keys on it. "This one says. . . 116, Jervis Road."

"Oh, yeah," Amethyst said dismissively. "There was like, a bunch of free keys in every car in the street!"

 _"Amethyst!"_ Greg looked horrified.

"I helped," Rose supplied, unhelpfully.

"Mama!" Steven whined, throwing his arms out to Rose. She gladly scooped him up, an increasingly frequent warmth flaring in her chest, and smiled fondly.

"Hello, Steven."

"Wait. 'Mama'?"

The Gems raised their eyes to Greg. "That's what he calls Rose," Garnet explained. She turned and gestured to Amethyst. "That's 'Amfist'." And then she pressed a hand to her own chest, solemn. "And I am 'Garget'."

Amethyst giggled.

"Mama!" Steven cried, and grabbed onto a tuft of Rose's hair, squealing in delight as she complied and let him dangle.

Greg jumped up, frantic. _"Rose!"_

"What?" she looked confused. "I see you do it all the time."

"Well—" Greg flushed, a little sheepish. "—I'm not eight feet tall!"

Rose sighed a little and gathered the baby in her arms again, flashing him a little grin. "Greg's no fun, is he?"

"Mama," he agreed, and snuggled into her breast.

"Do you guys know what 'mama' means?" Greg asked, slumping back on the couch and looking drained.

"Of course! It's me."

Greg rubbed at his eyes. "Oh boy."

Unsettled by the commotion, Steven squirmed in their hold, eyes settling on something across the room. He pointed. "Mama."

The Gems followed his eyes to the portrait mounted on the wall. Greg's eyes stayed fixed on the floor.

"That's. . . Mama?" Rose asked, disbelievingly. She felt tears prick at her eyes.

Greg nodded. "That's his mom, alright."

Rose let her gaze drop back down to the pearl shining against Steven's forehead, feeling herself choke up. "You mean—"

"You've officially been adopted," Garnet smiled, and stepped beside them to wrap her arms around them. "I think you make a great mom for baby Steven."

○○○

"Guys! _Guys!_ "

Twelve-year-old Steven raced up the stairs to the beach house, duffel bag slung over his shoulder and pillow tucked under his arm. As soon as he flung the door open he dumped his bags in the entryway and flung himself into Rose's embrace.

"Welcome home, Steven!" Rose cried, and knelt down to squeeze him tight, strawberry locks tumbling over her shoulders.

"Hey, little man!" Amethyst joined, and gave him a quick hug before stepping back and gesturing. "This is like, all yours! The kitchen, the living room—"

"And we built a bedroom for you in the loft!" Rose interrupted again eagerly, pulling back and pointing up the stairs. "It's your own little space!"

"You can still visit Greg, of course," Garnet assured. "We offered for him to move in but he'd rather stay in his van. Here he comes now."

Steven turned, scanning the beach. "Where?" Greg's head appeared above the deck as he climbed the stairs. "Ohhh. There. How'd you know?!"

Garnet smiled. "It's a secret."

"Wow, schtu-ball, look at this place!" Greg stood in the doorway, awed by the sight. His eyes settled on the loft. "Hey, is that your bedroom??"

"Yeah! The Gems made it just for me!"

Greg coughed. "Well, I might've helped a _little_ bit. . ." The air was then promptly knocked out of him as Steven rushed forward and threw his arms around him. Greg laughed, a little breathless. "Aw, it's okay, little man! I'm sure you'll love it here with the Gems."

"I will!" Steven promised. "And I'll miss you! I'll come and visit you every day!"

"Now, don't make promises you can't keep, Steven," Garnet smiled affectionately.

"I know you'll come see me, Steven," Greg chuckled, and leaned down to plant a kiss on his head. "Well, I just came by to check on ya, make sure you settled in. It's a long walk from the carwash!"

"Daaaad, it's only a mile!" Steven whined.

Greg smiled sheepishly, turning for the door. "Well, it's a father's licence to worry. Now, don't you go making trouble for the Gems! I'll see ya!"

"I won't!" Steven promised, running back to this time hug Garnet. She complied happily, sinking to her knees to embrace him proper. Though Steven had ceased calling them by their baby babble nicknames by now, through the window, Garnet could see happy tears sparkling in Greg's eyes as he watched them.

She smiled.


	8. Gem Glow

It was a sunny day. The seaside town of Beach City was pleasantly quiet.

_"NOOOOOOO!"_

Er, well . . . almost.

Inside the Big Donut, Steven Universe was standing shocked in front of the mini freezer.

"This can't be happening! This has to be a dream!" he spun around, making a beeline for the shorter shop assistant and wrapping his arms around her. "Sadie, _Sadie_! Please tell me I'm dreaming!"

Sadie didn't act favourably to being tackled.

"Steven, let go! I'm stocking here."

She wriggled out of his grasp and walked away, leaving Steven to slap pathetically to the linoleum. At the counter, the cashier winced.

"Sorry, man . . . I guess they stopped making them," Lars said, leaning over.

"Stop _making_ them?" Steven clambered to his knees. "Why in the world would they stop making _Cookie Cats_? They're only the most scrumptious and delicious ice cream sandwich ever made! _Don't they have laws for this?_ "

"That's life, Steven." He looked over at Sadie, crouching to stock the lowest shelves. "No one buys them anymore. I guess they couldn't compete with _Lion Lickers_."

Steven was beside himself. "Not Lion Lickers! Nobody likes them!" He stood and trudged over to the themed freezer against the wall, gazing through the frosted glass at the drippy treats inside. The black bubblegum eyes stained the ice cream around them, and the mouths were lopsided. "They don't even look like lions! Kids these days, I'll tell you what!"

Across the room, Sadie stood up, smirking. "Well, if you miss your ice cream so much, why don't you make some with your magic gem?"

"That's not how it works, Sadie!" he cried, then paused. ". . . Right?"

He turned to the freezer, inspecting his reflection in the glass. He raised a hand and tapped the gem against his forehead, but nothing happened. He sighed, drifting back to the Cookie Cat freezer. "Oh, sweet Cookie Cats, with their crunchy cookie outside . . . their icy creamy insides. . ." As he spoke, he drew the well-known shape on the frosty glass, and, in a melodramatic display, he gave the picture a soft kiss. "You were too good for this world. . ."

Lars stared at him from the counter. "Uhh . . . Steven? Do you wanna take the freezer with you?"

The boy gave a tearful nod.

○○○

Steven jogged happily across the sand, freezer cords fashioned into backpack straps. In a matter of seconds he was up the slope and lugging the freezer on his back up the stairs, swinging through the front door.

"Hey guys! You won't believe thi—"

And in a flash, he was knocked to the ground. When his eyes refocussed, he found himself staring into the eye of some sort of monster. Its jaws snapped just centimetres from his face, and he screamed.

A whip lashed around the creature's middle and he looked up to see Amethyst standing across the room, her hands on the weapon's hilt.

"Hey, Steven!" she grinned. She heaved on the whip and the creature went sailing through the air.

On top of the warp pad, Rose Quartz was fending off attacks from multiple creatures with her shield. In a clever manoeuvre she scooped one up and whacked it across the room. Garnet snatched it from the air and, imprisoned in her gauntlets, it was squeezed until it poofed in a cloud of greenish smoke.

As Steven watched, Amethyst darted after some getaways, and Rose tried (unsuccessfully, for the most part) to haul one out from under the coffee table. All over the room, creatures were swinging from the ceiling, chewing cushions and snapping at the TV.

"Awesome!" he said as he set the freezer down. He watched one scuttle in front of him. "What are these things?"

Rose huffed. "Sorry, Steven! We'll get these centipeetles out of your room." She picked one up and held it fast. It squirmed, head peeking over her arms. "We think they were trying to get into the Temple."

"Aw, you don't have to get rid of them," Steven said, sidling up beside her. "They're really cool!"

It was at that moment the creature decided to spit a gob of acid onto the floor in front of them. As he watched, the wooden planks fizzled and melted, leaving a great hole in the floor.

A few paces away, Amethyst's whip lashed another centipeetle against the wall. It dropped to the ground, shrieking, and then poofed.

"Uhm, you guys? These things don't have gems," she called out, scratching her head.

"That means there must be a mother somewhere nearby." Steven looked up at Garnet, now standing beside him. A centipeetle reared up next to her, jaws open, and received a fist to the face for its trouble. It poofed almost immediately.

"We should probably find it before anyone gets hurt," Rose murmured, struggling centipeetle still held firmly to her torso.

"Oo, ooh, can I come? Can I? Can I?"

Steven whipped to Garnet, eyes pleading.

Rose gave a soft laugh. "Of course!" She made a deft movement with her centipeetle and it poofed.

"But not until you learn to control the powers in your gem, first," Garnet interjected.

"Aw, man. . ." It was at that moment he noticed a centipeetle at the fridge, scrabbling at the shelves. "Hey! Get outta there!"

He ran at it and it scampered away, leaving the milk upturned on the floor. "Go on! Shoo, shoo!"

He turned and saw yet another centipeetle a few feet away, this time with a can clamped in its jaws. He sighed. "They got into everything! Not cool!"

Garnet delivered a swift punch and the incriminating creature was sent flying across the room. He shook his head, eyes returning to the freezer. He gasped.

Dozens of cat icons set against pink wrapping grinned back at him.

"No way. . ." he breathed, reaching out and grabbing one. "It can't be! Wh— Where did you get these?? I thought they stopped making them!"

Rose walked up and shut the freezer door. She shot him a proud little smile. "Weeell, we heard that too, and since they're your favourite—"

Amethyst pattered up beside them and leant against the counter. "We went out and got some for you!"

"The whole thing was _my_ idea," Garnet said, once again suddenly beside them. She held up her hands and her gauntlets dissipated in whorls of magenta light.

"It was everyone's idea," Amethyst corrected.

"Not really."

"All that matters is that Steven is happy," Rose soothed, smiling down at him.

The boy burst into the Cookie Cat jingle, startling her.

_"He's a frozen treat, with an all new taste;  
'Cause he came to this planet from outer space!  
A refugee of an interstellar war—  
But now he's at your local grocery store!  
_

_Cookie Cat!  
He's a pet for your tummy!  
Cookie Cat!  
He's super duper yummy!  
Cookie Cat!  
He left his family behind!  
Cookie Caaaaat. . ._

_Now available at Gurgens' off Route 109!"_

The Gems burst into laughter. Garnet even gave an appreciative applause.

Steven turned to Rose. "I can't believe you did this! I'm gonna save these forever! . . . Right after I eat this one."

He tore off the wrapping and gazed at the ice cream treat. "Hello, old friend."

He took a bite and closed his eyes in delight, chewing slowly. As the Gems watched, his gem began to glow, casting light over the kitchen.

Steven, oblivious, went on rambling. "Mmh, so good! I like to eat the ears first."

Rose covered her mouth with a hand, eyes sparkling.

Garnet and Amethyst glanced at each other before the smaller Gem spoke. "Uh, Steven?"

Looking up, he suddenly noticed the pure light filtering through the kitchen and gasped. "Wha—? My gem!"

"Quick!" Amethyst cried. "Try and summon your weapon!"

"I don't know how!" as he spoke, the light began to fade, and he pranced about in a panic. "It's fading! How do I make it come back!"

"Calm down Steven, breathe," Rose offered, taking a step towards him. "It'll come back—"

Meanwhile, Steven was a sweaty mess, staring desperately at her.

". . . Yeah, and try not to pass out, either," Amethyst put in.

But their efforts were fruitless. The light retracted back into his gem, and everyone sighed. Disappointed, Steven dumped himself on the floor.

"Aw, I was really close that time!" his shoulders slumped and he stood, putting the now-melting treat back into the freezer, and turned back to the Gems. "Can one of you just explain how to summon a weapon?"

"Oh!" Rose raised a hand, grinning. "I'll go first!"

○○○

She stood in a field of roses, hair drifting in the gentle wind. She crouched by a pink rose bush, cupping one of the delicate flowers in her palm.

"Take a deep breath in," she told him, and did so herself, closing her eyes to savour the scent of the gorgeous flowers. "This is my favourite scent in the world. . . it's so soft, and delicate, and _beautiful_." She stood, turning to him and smiling. "Does it make you happy?"

Steven didn't know quite what to say. "Uh . . . yeah?"

"It makes me happy. And the gentle breeze . . . some days, I like to sit and watch the tide come in. The first time I summoned my weapon, I felt truly content. You could summon yours the same way."

He looked on as she closed her eyes, framing her gem with her touching hands. The shape between her fingers looked like an intangible heart. "Of course, after the first time, it gets easier . . . and you can summon it on command."

Her gem lit up and projected a beam of light, shield materialising in front of her. She opened her eyes and grasped it, grinning. "Like so."

Steven turned to the bush beside him and took one of the white blooms into his hands.

Half an hour later he stood outside the Big Donut with Amethyst cupping the same rose. He dipped his head and breathed in the exquisite scent, trying to concentrate.

"Did Rose tell you the flower thing?" Amethyst asked.

"Yeah . . . I have to find a way to be really happy and, uh. . ."

"Content?"

"Yeah, to summon my weapon."

"Steven, all that 'looking for contentedness' stuff doesn't work. You need to practice," Amethyst told him. "Now, whenever I _need_ to summon my weapon, it just happens."

Her gem glowed instantaneously and she pulled out her whip, twirling it around her head before she lashed out and secured a grip on a twig in the gutter, flinging it into the air.

"See?" she smiled proudly, tossing the thing away. "I didn't even need to try."

The twig hurtled through the air, arcing over the roof of the shop. A second later, there was a _thunk_ and a yell.

"Agh! What the heck?" Sadie's voice cried. A string of profanities typically followed.

Steven's audience with Garnet didn't help much either. He met her on top of the grassy cliff, by the lighthouse.

"So I'm supposed to work really hard and not try at all at the same time?" Steven asked her, confused.

"Yes."

He stood there forlornly, wind ruffling his hair.

_"Or. . ."_

Steven didn't pick up any of what she said after, but it sounded like a lot. He was left feeling more confused than ever.

○○○

"I think my best bet is to recreate what happened last time my gem glowed — soo. . ."

Back at the house, Steven pointed in turn to the counter and the fusion's previous spot beside it. "Garnet and Amethyst were here and here."

The two sidled back to their respective positions.

"Rose was next to the fridge—"

When he turned, Rose was already standing there, a soft smile on her face.

"Hmmm. . ." He thought for a moment. "Amethyst, I think your arms were crossed?"

Amethyst laughed and folded them for him. "Okay, Your Majesty."

"And Rose! You were . . . facing this way and . . . yeah, like that! And you had your hands together."

Rose followed his instructions. "This might just work!" she beamed.

"And Garnet—" He grabbed her face and tilted it back a little. She followed his direction limply. "Uhhh . . . yeah."

He grabbed his half-eaten Cookie Cat from the fridge and tore off the wrapper. (Amethyst's gem lit up as she discreetly stretched her arm past him to pick it up.) ". . . Then I took a bite of this Cookie Cat."

He scrunched his eyes shut and took a little nibble. When he opened them, there was no pearly light to be seen. He sighed dejectedly.

"Maybe I'm not a real Crystal Gem."

Rose sat down next to him. "Don't be silly, Steven, of course you are!"

"And you're fun to have around, even if you can't quite control your gem yet!" Amethyst put in. "You're one of us, Steven! We're not the Crystal Gems without you." Her smile was warm and genuine. Garnet nodded to affirm her point.

Steven's eyes shone. "Yeah! Even if I don't have powers, I've still got . . . Cookie Cat!"

Rose watched on delightedly as he took a bite. Amethyst looked a little disappointed.

"So good!" he murmured, and it was at that moment his gem decided to light up again.

As Steven munched on, oblivious, something thin and pointed rose from his gem and expanded, hovering in the air above him.

Garnet and Amethyst gasped.

Rose squealed. "Steven! It's a spear!"

He opened his eyes, confused, and immediately locked onto the floating weapon. "Whoa, what! I get a spear? _Yes!!_ "

At his excited outburst, the gem's hold on the weapon broke and it was sent flying, bouncing comically off two walls before it implanted in the wood at Amethyst's feet.

She took a nervous step back.

Glancing at the treat in his hand, Steven had a brainwave. "Cookie Cat! I summoned my weapon by eating _ice cream_!"

"What's _in_ these things?" Amethyst murmured, turning the packet over in her hands.

She promptly dropped it when a deep quaking ran through the house. Dozens of shapes crawled past the windows with a low rumble.

Steven's spear dissipated.

"What was that?" he asked, hushed for once.

The three Gems ran outside with Rose in the lead. They all craned their heads.

"It's the mother," Garnet said, and with a burst of impressive energy, she launched herself onto the temple statue, leaping up its face to reach the leviathan creature.

"Steven, stay in the house!" Amethyst yelled.

Steven was in disbelief. "No way, I'm coming too!"

He ran back into the house, gathering an armful of branded ice cream sandwiches, and a tangled bunch of extension cords (from who knows where).

Outside, Garnet landed a strong kick to the creature's head and scrambled down to the beach. Rose landed gracefully on the grass beside her and set Amethyst back on her feet. Barely giving them time to adjust, the creature reared above them and let loose a stream of acid. They all scattered.

Rose barely had time to gather the Gems behind her and summon her enlarged shield before they were rained on with more of the sizzling substance. Garnet mustered her gauntlets and stared at them uselessly.

"We need something long-range," Amethyst said, and groaned. "Steven's spear would've been perfect!"

The stream of acid dissipated and the Gems all looked around to see Steven standing before the giant centipeetle. He set the Cookie Cat freezer (with its many extension cords trailing behind) firmly on the ground. "Leave them alone!"

Garnet and Amethyst peered around the sides of the shield. "Steven, _no_!"

"Cookie Cat Crystal Combo powers _activate_!" the latter cried in typically dramatic fashion, shoving the rest of said treat in his mouth.

Needless to say, nothing happened, and Steven was sent running with his freezer to (not-so) safety.

"We need to save Steven!" Rose cried, and her shield was rocked with the force of a blow from the creature's behind.

"We need to save ourselves first!" Amethyst rebutted.

By this time, Steven had gobbled all the treats in a panic, but the only response he was getting from his chubby little body was a gurgle from his stomach. _"Why isn't it working?!"_

The creature roared and spat a stream of acid at him, and he leapt away, hearing a hissing noise and looking down to realise that a few droplets had caught his sandal and were eating away at the rubber.

"Steven!" Garnet cried, popping up from behind Rose's shield, and the monster dropped its tail-end claws down upon them, scraping against the barrier.

Steven lifted his head at the call, only to gasp in horror. A few feet away, his empty Cookie Cat freezer lay, half-melted and sparking pathetically.

"No," he cried, and ran over. "No, no no no no no no!" The metal was dented, and the glass broken, and Steven hung his head. "Cookie Cat. . . he's the pet for your tummy."

Behind Rose's shield, the Gems strained against the onslaught from the rabid creature.

Feeling a surge of anger, Steven stood, clenching his fists. "Cookie Cat—he's super duper yummy!" He grabbed the limp cord and ran to the monster, dragging the sparking machine behind him. _"Cookie Cat—he left his family behind!"_ And then, with all his strength, he lassoed the freezer into the air and then threw it, watching as it arced up into the air and landed on the creature's back. The thing screamed as electricity coursed through its body, shocking its hair out into spikes and lighting its body up with a fierce white light.

"Now available. . . nowhere," Steven mourned, and dropped to his knees on the sand.

"Yeah!" Amethyst cried, watching the creature shriek.

"Gems, weapons," Garnet commanded, and in a flash of light they exploded out from behind Rose's shield, backlit by the dimming sunlight and standing tall, sparkling with the residues of the summons.

"Let's do it," Garnet said, and her companions nodded in unison before they all rushed forward, raising their weapons—

The creature exploded in a billow of glittering smoke, leaving the green banded gem to drop to the sand. Garnet bubbled it and sent it away.

Behind her, Steven pushed the dirt back over the hole he had made, sealing the last Cookie Cat wrapper in its shallow grave. "Farewell sweet Cookie Cats," he said, eyes wet, and stuck a leaf into the small mound as a marker. "I'll always remember the time we spent together."

His belly grumbled. "Shh, hush now."

Amethyst crouched behind him. "Are you. . . crying?"

"Only a little!"

"Well I guess your powers don't come from ice cream," she said, and set herself on the ground.

Rose laughed, gliding up beside them and kneeling beside the boy. "Well, it was a good guess. Don't worry Steven—some day you'll find out a way to activate your Gem! You just need some time."

"Yes," came Garnet's voice, and they both looked up to find her smiling down at them, hands on her hips. "In your own Steven-y way."

Steven smiled back. "I'm okay, guys! I just—" his stomach gurgled, and he clutched at it, looking a little green. "Uh, I think I ate too many Cookie Cats."

After regurgitating his stomach contents onto the makeshift grave, Steven found he felt a lot better. He ate another ice cream sandwich to celebrate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course I had to switch Sadie and Lars. Don't judge me.


	9. Together Breakfast

Half an hour to make breakfast. The longest breakfast Steven had ever made.

He glanced around, finding the house empty, and sighed, throwing himself on the counter. "That thing's too good for me to eat alone!" he whined to no one in particular. "It's a. . . Together Breakfast!"

It was at that moment the warp pad chimed and he rocketed up, losing his balance and tumbling off the counter.

When he stood, he found Garnet standing on the pad, a mysterious scroll in hand.

"Ah, Garnet, perfect! Check it out!" he lifted the plate for her to see. "It's not exactly healthy, but it's in a _stack_. . . so I guess you could say it's a. . . _balanced breakfast_?"

Garnet stared at him.

"Y'know, like I made us all breakfast! I thought we could eat together, like, like best buds!"

"I can't stay. There's business to attend to inside the temple."

She turned and stepped up to the door, holding her hands out. The matching gems settled into her palms glowed, lighting up the corresponding gems on the door. A Y-shaped patten appeared on the door and the panels slid open to reveal a stone chamber, aglow with warm light.

"Aw, business! Like what?"

Garnet turned, unrolling the scroll for him to see. "I have to burn this."

He gazed at the thing, adorned with fluorescent, swirling patterns. He thought he could hear whispers as his eyes traced the bright lines.

"Cool!" He grabbed his phone and held it up, snapping a photo of the artefact. No sooner had he opened the gallery to gaze at the newest picture that Garnet plucked the phone from his hands.

"I have to burn this too," she said, and turned, strolling into the Temple.

"No! My apps!" Steven ran to the door, smacking into it helplessly as it sealed. He stepped back and lifted his hand to feel at the gem against his forehead

"Door," he demanded. When nothing happened, he laid his bejewelled head against the panel. "Open door!"

Nothing.

He stepped away, sighing. "Awh, it never works when I need it!"

At that moment, the door to the shack slammed open to reveal a muscled purple man holding an _Erf!_ gun. "Dumb police!" he growled, and aimed the contraption at Steven's heavenly breakfast. "Uhh, you're dumb!"

He squeezed the trigger and a jet of water blasted out, making a beeline for the plate.

"Nooooo!" With a dramatic cry, Steven ran and _leapt_ , flying in front of the breakfast and taking the hit. He tumbled to the ground, shirt wet, but breakfast saved.

The policeman gave a high-pitched laugh, shifting his head to resemble a familiar Gem with flowing hair. "Oh man, I totally got you! You shoulda seen the look on your face!"

"Awh, I knew it was you!"

"Pfft, how?"

He stood and tugged off his shirt, walking to the cupboard. "'Cause that's a water gun!" He hurriedly exchanged it for a dry shirt, closed the door, and slipped it on, levelling a glare at Amethyst. "And I'm not dumb!"

"You got something on your shirt."

He looked. Just the star.

Another jet of water soaked him.

It stopped when the warp pad chimed, depositing a familiar tall figure. "Hey, Rose!" She shifted down and tossed the gun away, folding her arms behind her back innocently.

Rose Quartz smiled and stepped down from the warp pad. "Hello, Amethyst. Hello, Steven."

"Where've you been?" Amethyst asked. "You've been gone for, like, days."

"Yeah! And I made a breakfast for us," Steven whined, walking to the counter and grabbing his plate for her to see.

"I was out patrolling," Rose replied as Amethyst sauntered up to her.

"But wheeeeree? You're always out patrolling somewhere mysterious!"

Rose only smiled. "I found something for you."

Amethyst immediately lit up. "Yeah?"

Setting her gem aglow, Rose withdrew from it what looked like a broad-brimmed, cone-shaped hat. Amethyst grabbed it—"Aw, cool!"—and ran off through the Temple door. It oozed shut immediately behind her.

"Amethyst, wait!" Steven cried, and ran forward, though he knew he wouldn't be able to get through the door.

"What's wrong, Steven?"

"Well. . . I want us to all have breakfast together, so I made Together Breakfast! But everyone keeps leaving."

"Ohh. You know, I think I have just the thing."

He perked up. "You do?"

She smiled mysteriously and turned, waving a hand and opening the Temple door. "Come with me."

Entranced, he followed her into the pink, cloudy room, jumping a little when the door disappeared behind them. "Uh— Rose? Where'd the door go?"

"It's okay, I can summon it again when we want to leave."

He let himself relax. He trusted her. Instead, he let himself gaze around at the whorls of pink wisps—they even walked on what looked like a fluffy pink carpet of clouds. "Wooow, this is so cool!"

Rose's reply came in the form of a soft laugh. "I'm glad you like it—but I can show you something even better!" She stopped and turned, fixing him with her soft gaze. "Ask the room for something. Anything you want."

"Anything I want?" he gasped, and at her nod, he paused, thinking. "I want. . . a flying pink whale!"

With a soft _poof!_ , a tiny pink whale materialised in the air beside him, and wailed a soft song. " _WHOA!_ Rose! Look at my whale!"

She laughed, delighted. "It's wonderful, Steven!"

"I want a purple Dogcopter to keep her company!"

Another poof, and soon Dogcopter and the whale were frolicking around the room. Steven grinned up at Rose. "Hey, this is great!. . . but, what did you bring me here for?"

"Watch this." She raised her voice, addressing the room. "Can I have the Crystal Gems?"

From a lump of pink cloud a few paces away, first Amethyst, and then Garnet emerged, flashing Steven dazzling smiles.

He gasped in delight, and then frowned. "Wait. . . are they cloud-Gems?"

"Yes," Rose smiled. "And now we can have your breakfast all together, like you wanted!"

"But. . . I want the real Crystal Gems," Steven said, deflating. There was a flash and then a door opened in the air beside him.

"Aw, cool! I'll be right back," Steven said, stepping towards it.

"Steven, wait—" 

He stepped through the door and suddenly found himself in a rocky lilac room, walls culturing sparkling geodes. "Whooooaaa. . . wait, Rose?"

The door behind him had disappeared, and he groaned. "Not again!"

At that moment, Amethyst sauntered into view among piles of junk, ripping a mattress out from underneath one and sending it flying.

"Amethyst!"

"Oh hey Steven! Where'd you come from?"

"Uh— I. . . I dunno! I was just with Rose in a pink cloud room!"

Amethyst waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, yeah, that happens."

"It was really bare, though. Nothing like here! It's so messy."

"Aww, thanks! I try," Amethyst gushed. "I just collect all my junk and keep it in here."

"Junk like what?"

"Junk like. . . you!" She darted forward and lifted him, inciting delighted giggles. "I'mma throw you in the junk pile!"

She promptly dumped him on a random pile and stepped back. "But Rose brings me stuff. Like the hat you saw this morning! Aaannd. . . that burrito over there!" She grinned. "I'm gonna have that soon. The hat was pretty good, too."

Steven decided not to comment on her strange eating habits. He'd seen her consume worse.

"Awh, what's that, Steven?" Evidently, Amethyst had noticed his plate.

"It's a Together Breakfast!" he said smugly.

"Alright, _snacks_!" Amethyst lunged forward and he hurriedly snatched the plate out of reach.

"No! It's for everyone to eat together! That's the essence of Together Breakfast."

The purple Gem ignored him, lunging forward again, and he scrambled off the pile he was sitting on, holding the plate aloft and bolting off across the room, skirting trash piles and running into a rocky tunnel opening in the wall. "We have to eat it together!"

Amethyst darted after him, hot on his heels. "You can't outrun me!" came her playful shout. "We both have short legs!"

He pushed harder, legs almost a blur as they two pelted down the tunnel. He could feel it going steeply downhill and adjusted his plate accordingly, keeping it level, but as he did he noticed that suddenly the breakfast was _upside down_ , and looked _up_ to see the floor above his head. _Whaa?!—_

He could see light ahead and ran faster, feeling the ground right itself beneath him and heaving a sigh of relief as his breakfast became levelled upright. As he drew closer to the opening, he found that it was a huge, purple void, dotted with gravity-defying platforms all around. These led to what looked like some sort of tower or room in the middle, and throwing a quick glance over his shoulder—Amethyst was hot on his heels—he took a flying leap and landed on the first platform, and then jumped to the next, and the next, down down, the other Gem's giggles echoing behind him.

Finally, he reached the lowest platform and jumped into the middle-most chamber, darting straight for the large pink tube in the middle and leaping onto it, wrapping arms and legs around for support.

Behind him, he could hear Amethyst stop. "Hey, wait a second!"

Then, Rose's worried voice. "Steven!"

He squirmed on the tube, looking around it to grin at her. "Rose, sweet! Two out of three!"

"Steven, be _careful_!" she cried, palms out, knees bent.

"Why?" he asked, and then looked up, to see a giant, red, beating mass above him. "Whoaaa. . ."

"Steven, this is the Crystal Heart! It's connected to the most dangerous parts of the Temple! Hold on, I'll get you down, just— don't look down."

He looked down.

Head suddenly spinning at the vast darkness beneath him, he scrabbled, panicked, and then slid down the tube with a shriek.

_"Steven!"_ came Amethyst's and Rose's unified cry.

He pressed himself tighter against the tube, trying to minimise surface area and avoid the craggy rocks jutting out all around. Then suddenly, he was whizzing through pink clouds.

"Oh hey, Rose's room!—This isn't so bad."

And then jagged rocks again, scraping a graze up him arm and one pointed crystal narrowly missing his eye. _"Nevermiiiind!"_

He fell, screeching, past rocky walls, and then ruby tubes, and suddenly he slowed, coming to a stop on a horizontal pipe. He checked his plate and breathed a sigh of relief—still perfect.

Below him, Garnet strode towards what looked like a pool of lava— _so cool!_ —in the centre of the room. She was carrying the voodoo scroll from earlier and his phone. As he watched, she effortlessly snapped the phone in half (he sighed in disappointment) and dropped it into the lava, watching as it bubbled and sunk. Next, she lowered the scroll gradually into the molten rock with an eerie shriek, and Steven watched in awe as it dissipated on contact, leaving behind a black smoke that Garnet immediately bubbled.

Carefully, Steven slid down and off the tube, padding quietly behind Garnet. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder and a whisper at his ear.

_"Steven, come on, let's go."_

He turned to find Rose and Amethyst loitering, anxious expressions fixed.

"Oh, this is great!" he cried. "We're all together!"

Garnet turned, gasping in surprise, and he saw the bubble falter before she hurriedly stabilised it again.

"We can finally eat!" he said, louder, holding the breakfast high. He glanced at Amethyst in anticipation, but even her face was pinched. "I mean, we don't have any forks, but we can use our hands! I'm not gonna judge!"

 _"Steven! Go!"_ Garnet cried, straining as the bubble wobbled again. Rose and Amethyst rushed over.

"Oh, okay! You guys wanna meet me in the kitchen?"

Garnet's attention was divided; the bubble popped. Black smoke rose into the air and billowed across the ceiling like a great stormcloud.

The Gems summoned their weapons. Rose edged around to put herself between Steven and the cloud.

"It's trying to escape!" Garnet shouted, "Force it back!" She darted forward and dealt a vicious punch to the apparently solid smoke, sending its creeping tendrils back up to the main body.

Steven turned to run, only making it a few steps when the ground shook beneath him and he shot a glance over his shoulder to see the smoke billowing after him. It had punched in the ground where he had stood moments before.

Amethyst now jumped in front of him, lashing at the stuff with her whip. "Get! Back!"

Rose slashed at the smoke with her sword, summoning her shield, and Garnet threw another solid punch. In retaliation, the smoke reared up and shot towards Steven, connecting with the plate he held up in defense and throwing him across the room.

 _"Steven!"_ All three Gems cried in unison.

He sat up, giving a dazed groan, and opened his eyes to find the smoke sinking into the breakfast. As he watched in horror, the food jiggled, and then _expanded_ , bulging out and rising up with a roar. He screamed—a pink shield lodged itself in the food with a wet _thunk!_ and the animated breakfast paused. A few paces away, Rose stood, brandishing her lone sword.

"It got in the Together Breakfast!" Rose cried, and no sooner had the words left her lips that the food shot towards her a globule of cream and she was sent arcing across the chamber, glued to the opposing wall in the sweet sticky stuff.

"Now it has all the power of a breakfast," Garnet affirmed, lowering her stance. "We have to destroy it!"

On the wall, Rose squirmed, struggling to form a pink bubble and push the food away and failing.

The breakfast plucked her shield from its gooey hide and promptly snapped it in half. The weapon dissipated in a flash of sparks. Next, it incarcerated Garnet by encasing her gauntlet in popcorn-studded cream. Amethyst grabbed her and tried to pull her away.

"I didn't want this!" Steven cried, struggling to push the food on top of him away with his measly plate. "I just wanted to eat together like family!"

"Steven, you've got to get away!" Garnet responded, still struggling with her trapped gauntlet.

"But my breakfast!" he squeaked, and at that moment the monstrous thing launched an enormous waffle at the remaining Gems, smashing them into the wall beside Rose.

Watching the once-breakfast torment the Gems, Steven felt something in him harden. _"That's enough!"_ Straining with all his might, he struggled to his feet, shoving the food back as hard as he could. "I don't care if you are the most important meal of the DAY!"

He grunted in exertion, driving the food-monster back toward the lava pool. "I made you to bring us together, _not to tear us apart!_ " With one final shove, the breakfast was pushed into the bubbling magma and with a shriek it burst apart, littering the room with globules of cream and soggy dough.

From the wall, Garnet and Amethyst emerged from the oversized waffle, and Rose finally formed a bubble, dropping from the cream and then letting the thing pop. Panting, they padded tentatively over to the pool and around Steven.

"I'm sorry guys." Steven sagged, and Rose and Amethyst rested their hands on his shoulders in comfort. ". . . I guess I dreamed too big."

○○○

Semi-gloved hands pushed waffles into the toaster, and Amethyst stuffed microwaveable bags into the mini-oven.

A few minutes later, the waffles were launched into the air and caught in perfect timing. Garnet stacked them perfectly on a dinner plate and Rose carefully drizzled them in maple syrup. Some spilled on her finger and she popped it into her mouth.

The microwave pinged and opened, packets of popped corn tumbling out, which Amethyst then promptly emptied onto still-steaming waffle stacks. Now wielding a can of whipped cream, Rose stepped in again and with much enthusiasm sprayed a huge fluffy mound onto the top, then lifting Steven who, with great precision, placed a fat strawberry on its fluffy bed.

The Gems stood back to admire their work.

"It looks great!" Steven grinned, eyes sparkling. "It's even more Together and even more Breakfast!"

They stared at the plate for a moment.

The waffle towers were daunting.

The popcorn overflowed.

The strawberry loomed over it all from its luscious cream cushion.

". . . I don't think I can eat this," Steven admitted, looking sheepishly up to the Gems.

"Let's order pizza," Amethyst suggested, and the group nodded in unanimous agreement.

"That sounds much better."

"Yeah, pizza's a great idea!"

"It's good."

"It did try to kill us," Garnet finished brightly.


	10. Jailbreak

He gazed in at the red figure hunched against the wall.

"Um . . . hello? Are you okay?"

The Gem jumped and gazed out at him. She looked to be very much on edge.

Suddenly, she slammed her fist against the wall. " _Great!_ This is just _perfect_!" she growled, and clutched at her cubic head.

Steven tried again. "Uh . . . do you need any help?"

 _"No!"_ The Gem cried, and glared at him angrily. "I mean. . . _don't look at me!_ Just, go away. . ."

He sighed and turned away.

"Hey wait!" The Gem stood and moved closer to the yellow screen boxing her in. "You're out! How did you get past the field?"

"Oh!" He stretched his hand out. "I just kinda. . ."

Concern flared in the Gem's eyes. "Wait! Nononono wait—"

She stopped when his hand slipped easily through. ". . . It's . . . okay?"

She pressed her own hand to the field and was promptly zapped. She hissed, stepping back. _"What's going on. . ."_

It was at that moment a lilting tune wafted through the corridor, and the Gem fell silent, listening.

After a few moments, Steven spoke up. "Somebody's singing!"

"Sapphire. . ." the Gem breathed, and whipped to face him. "Let me outta here! Please! I need to find Sapphire!"

"Is she your friend?" Steven asked. "I'm looking for my friends too."

"She's all alone—I need to find her!" the Gem cried.

"Don't worry, we'll find our friends," he offered, and stepped into the yellow field, opening a hole for her. The field jottled him as he cried, hopefully, "And we'll do it together!"

In a flash, the Gem dashed under his arm and took off in a full sprint down the corridor.

"Wait for me!" Steven cried, and pulled away from the field, dashing to keep up. The Gem skidded to a stop and he pulled up beside her.

"Hey, my name's Steven, by the way. What's yours?"

"Quiet!" she grunted, and held her head in her hands. "I can't see. . ."

She glanced up and down the corridor before making a decision. "This way!" she said, and dashed off to the left.

"How many more Gems are trapped here?" Steven called after her, scrambling to keep up.

"Don't know, don't care," she called back, and then stopped. "She stopped singing!" She looked wildly around and cupped her hands around her mouth to call out. _"Sapphire!"_

They had stopped by a large window and when Steven gazed through it, he caught a glimpse of the Earth sprawled below. He followed the Gem down the corridor and they soon came to another engaged cell.

The Gem gasped hopefully, and then frowned. "Oh . . . it's just you."

As Steven squinted past the field, he caught sight of a tear-shaped gem on the figure's back. "Lapis!"

She turned and gazed, anxious—and then annoyed—at him.

"Lapis, I can get you out!" Steven said, and reached out for the field.

"Stop!" she yelled.

"It's okay, I can—"

"No!" He took a step back. "I don't want your help! Things are bad enough as it is! I've already made too much trouble—if you hadn't healed me then I wouldn't've gone back home! I wouldn't have been caught!" He frowned at her scathing words. "Once we get back to Homeworld, they're going to decide what to do with us!"

The red Gem behind him gave an irritated growl. "Ugh! I don't have time for this!" she yelled, and dashed off.

"Wait!" Steven called after her.

"Steven, listen to me!" he turned to see Lapis move closer. "Don't be an idiot! Just stop—if we do everything they say, maybe we _won't_ be shattered!"

Steven could feel panic welling inside him at the loss of the other Gem. "But they're . . . mean! They hurt my friends—they hurt my face! They've got you here in prison!"

"And if we escape they'll crush us!" Lapis snapped.

"That's exactly why we have to fight them!" Steven cried.

Lapis gave him one last searing look and then shifted to sit against the wall, hugging her knees to her chest and grumbling. He could see her shaking through the yellow field.

Steven sighed. "I'll come back for you," he promised, and turned to venture back down the corridor.

Picking up the song from before, he followed the sound down another smaller corridor and jumped when a panelled door slid open in front of him. He flattened himself against the wall. Peridot and the large orange Gem from before strode past.

"Jasper, we can't leave yet!" Peridot was saying. "The whole reason the Diamonds stationed me here was to check on the cluster!"

They stopped in front of an active cell and the orange Gem (what was her name? Jasper?) delivered a skull-rattling punch to the wall. _"Stop singing!"_ she yelled, and turned to her companion. "Rose Quartz takes priority." Steven tensed. "Just— get back to the bridge and set a course for Homeworld."

With that, she turned and stormed off, leaving an exasperated Peridot to skulk back the way she had come, metaphorical tail between her legs.

Once she was out of sight, Steven peered around the corner to find a short blue Gem barricaded in the aforementioned cell. Making sure the hall was empty, he tiptoed over.

"Hey, I like your song!" He said to the Gem. "Are you Sapphire?"

The Gem gazed at him steadily from beneath her concealing fringe. "You escaped. . ."

Steven reached forward and pushed his fingers through the field. They slipped easily through to the other side and, after a pause, the Gem nodded. ". . . Of course."

He smiled, stepped into the field and held up his arms, creating another hole. _"Come oo-onn!"_ he invited, vibrating from the energy. _"It's saa-afe!"_

The shorter Gem ducked under his arms with a curtsey. "Thank you, Steven."

"You're welcome!"

_"Sapphiiireee!"_

The cry echoed from somewhere far away.

"Ruby." Sapphire gasped and grabbed him by the hand. "Come on."

Much to his surprise she took off at full speed, dashing forward at the speed of light, dragging him behind her, whizzing down corridors and slipping easily around corners. Amongst the whirl of colour, Steven thought that it was rather like some crazy carnival ride.

Without any warning, they skidded to a stop, and Steven almost went tumbling into Sapphire's back. Looking up, he saw that they were standing at the edge of a large chamber. Standing at the opposite doorway was the red Gem from before.

 _"Ruby!"_ Sapphire cried, and let go of him before again taking off. The Gems met in the middle of the room, reaching out and pulling each other close.

After a brief moment, Ruby pulled back and gazed at the other with frantic concern. "Did they hurt you?"

Sapphire shook her head, clasping the other's hand against her cheek. "No, no. I'm okay. Did they hurt _you_?"

Ruby's eyes were wet and her high voice broke when she answered. "Who _cares_?"

 _"I do,"_ Sapphire replied, and leaned forward, pressing a kiss to Ruby's forehead.

Ruby smiled and, pulling back, she circled her arms around Sapphire's waist, lifting her off the ground and spinning them around. Joyful laughter filled the chamber as they spun, gems aglow, forms whitening and lifting off the ground, melding together in a dynamic blob and growing taller, refining, accentuating, until the light cleared—

Her raucous laughter lower than the other Gems', Garnet dropped to the floor and grinned at Steven. _"Steven!"_ she cried, excitedly. Her three eyes softened. "Thank you."

"Garnet!" His eyes sparkled. "You're a _fusion_?"

She gave a soft, almost embarrassed laugh. "Oh, I'm sorry. We didn't want you meeting us here like this."

Steven understood that perhaps now might be an inopportune time to introduce him to her components, but he didn't think any other occasion would have made it even more wonderful. "Well. . . did I make a good first impression?"

"Oh Steven," Garnet sighed, a fond smile playing about her lips as she cupped his cheek, "We already love you."

_"WHERE IS SHE?"_

The shout was distant, but no less intimidating. They both glanced worriedly at the righthand door.

"It's Jasper," Garnet said. "Steven, find the others and get to the control bridge!"

"But I don't know where they are!" Steven confessed.

Garnet leaned forward, pressing a sparkling kiss to Steven's forehead, and in a flash he saw, down a long stretch of corridors, Amethyst, and Rose in separate holding cells. They leaned against their shared wall, as if in comfort.

"Future vision," Steven droned, mesmerised.

Garnet stood, readying to face the Quartz.

"Wait!" At his call, her eyes flicked to settle on him. "Are you gonna be able to beat her on your own?"

"It's okay, Steven. I'm never alone."

With the bootsteps growing louder, he gave a confirming nod and disappeared down the corridor. Almost immediately, Jasper appeared, racing through the arch at the opposite side of the room and skidding to a stop a few feet from the fusion.

"Oh, great," she growled. "You're _both_ out? And you're fused _again_? Why? You know you can't beat me. Rose Quartz is coming with _me_!"

Garnet only chuckled. The confident sound made Jasper grind her teeth.

"I don't think so," the fusion said, locking eyes with her.

○○○

Steven, Rose and Amethyst ran for the bridge, finally sighting the angled door and running through the opening panels. There was a floating green chair at the far end of the room—it spun around, revealing a disenchanted Peridot. Steven thought he saw a buzz of static in her eyes before they cleared.

Gritting her teeth, Peridot summoned a Gem destabiliser from the dashboard and stood, striding towards them with dark eyes. In defense of the Gems, Steven ran forward, grabbing the wand as she brought it down and absorbing the energy. Peridot reeled in surprise.

It was easy to incarcerate the resisting Gem and Amethyst promptly wound her in her lasso, sitting on top of the trussed bundle to keep her down. Rose approached the control panel and Peridot yelled. "Don't you _dare_! You'll crash the ship with everyone in it!"

"You got this Rose!" Amethyst called in encouragement, ignoring the struggling Gem beneath her.

Rose sat herself down in the strange chair, turning in determination to the interface. "Oh my, it's been so long. . . alright, let's see. . ." Carefully, she placed her hand on a yellow diamond insignia on the panel, and it activated, glowing pink. She snatched her hand away as if burned and a robotic voice emanated from the hidden speakers.

_"Gemstone recognised. Welcome, Pink—"_

In sheer panic, Rose delivered a swift punch to the interface, startling Steven. When she turned around to find him staring at her, she gave a nervous laugh. ". . . Whoops!"

As if on cue, there was a sudden jarring explosion and the Gems were knocked forward, dislodging Amethyst from her post and sending Rose tripping over her own feet with a cry. Now relatively free, Peridot squirmed forward, arms still trussed by her sides, and touched her face to the floor. The square panelling below her lit up and suddenly she was encased in a spherical pod. Amethyst threw herself at the thing but her hands closed on thin air as the pod was spirited away. Through the windscreen, they saw the thing shoot off towards Earth in a blur of green. There was nothing they could do but stand and watch.

Behind them, the door slid open with a hum and the Gems spun around. _"Garnet!"_

"The ship's going to crash!" Rose cried. "Everyone, close to me!"

"What about Lapis?" Steven cried.

 _"There's no time!"_ the newly-realised fusion yelled.

Swooping forward, the fusion captured Steven in her arms, and ran to Rose alongside Amethyst. On her command Rose enveloped them in a protective pink bubble.

The giant hand crashed down upon Beach City, promptly exploding into chunks with a sonic _boom!_. Rubble rained down upon the beach and into the ocean.

From the comfortable darkness Steven sat in, he heard a bone-shaking roar, and suddenly there was light. He felt the bubble relinquish around them and the Gems were deposited gently onto the sand, shaken but unharmed.

Rose breathed a sigh of relief, Steven in her lap. His brain reeled as he processed the information from the past hour.

"Oh my gosh!" he suddenly cried, and whipped to Garnet. "I can't believe you're a fusion all the time!"

"You met Ruby and Sapphire?!" Amethyst cried.

Rose gave an unexpected laugh. "They weren't always very subtle."

Garnet grinned and gave her a nudge before replying sheepishly to Steven. "We were waiting for your birthday. . ."

"We can still do it!" Steven cried, standing. "I'll just pretend I didn't know!"

They all laughed as the followed suit, brushing sand from their clothes.

Behind them, there was a loud _bang!_ and they turned to find Jasper standing with effort, surrounded by chunks of hand-ship. The Gems gasped in unison.

Groaning, Jasper ambled forward and fell to her knees, chest heaving. Obviously the crash had taken a lot out of her—but her fire remained, as she proved when she lifted her head and glared at them. "You haven't won!" she growled. "You only beat me 'cause you're a fusion! If I had someone to fuse with I'd—"

There was a scrabble and Jasper paused, turning. Lapis struggled out from beneath a large broken panel, gasping in exertion, and, sighting Jasper, she hurriedly called upon her wings and launched off the ground. She didn't get far, as Jasper lurched forward and caught her by the wrist.

"C'mere!" With Lapis trapped, she let her hang limply in the air. "You can't leave _now_!"

"Lapis!" Steven cried, and started forward, but was pulled back by Amethyst. From where she hung, Lapis shot him a poisonous look.

"Lapis listen, _fuse with me!_ " Jasper was saying, and Lapis whirled in shock.

_"What?"_

Jasper grasped her chin in a huge hand, angling her face up. "How long did they keep you trapped here, unable to fly away?" She let her down, surprisingly gentle, and Lapis immediately jerked herself away from the Quartz. "These Gems— they're traitors to their Homeworld! _She_ —" Jasper jabbed a finger at Rose Quartz. " _She's_ the one that started everything!"

Amethyst flung an arm in front of Steven. Beside him, Rose summoned her shield, and Steven heard Garnet summon her gauntlets behind them.

"Why would I _ever_ fuse with you?" Lapis spat.

"They used you!" There was something desperate in Jasper's eyes when she replied. "Don't you see? This is your chance to get revenge!"

Lapis only stared at her in disgust, backpedalling. Steven could see her spine curve in exhaustion, and on impulse he pushed forward to help. She caught the movement out of the corner of her eye and locked gazes with him, her glare like daggers.

"C'mon," Jasper pushed, wheedling. " _Please_ — just say yes."

"Lapis, don't do it," Steven begged, eyes locked on her.

Lapis hesitated for a moment, holding his pleading gaze, and a flash of emotion went over her face—guilt? remorse? anxiety?—but then it was gone. She paused and, taking a steadying breath, she steeled herself and turned, glaring at Jasper and offering her hand.

Jasper seized it in a flash.

"Noooo!" he cried.

They two swept through a brief, spinning dance, concluding on Lapis' dip over Jasper's arm. The last thing Steven saw before their forms whited out was Jasper's white grin, and her hard eyes.

The white form expanded, growing limbs that shook the ground when they took their stance, and the thing grew larger, taller, rising, rising, until a shock of tufty hair exploded around its head and the white faded, colouring the huge figure with a sea-green.

The monster fell to her hands before them, raising her head and opening four enormous, piercing eyes. Jasper's slow, trembling grin curved her lips as she let out an echoing laugh, raising a hand to call the sea to her bidding.

The Gems quivering before her, she rose to her full height, rivalling the Temple in size, and raised her arm in correlation with the imposing arm formed from the sea.

Just as she was about to strike, the massive fusion's laugh was cut off as the hand lurched forward, grabbing onto her wrist, and then shifting into a harsh manacle. ". . . Huh?" the fusion murmured, and her other wrist was captured in chains. _"—What??"_ Water smacked into her torso, forming criss-crossing chains across her form. _"—NO!!"_

The Gems watched in awe as she strained against the water trapping her, dragging the chains forward with effort. _"Lapis! What are you doing?"_ Jasper's dual-tone voice burst from her mouth.

 _"I'm DONE with you,"_ came Lapis' butting voice. _"I'm done with all of them! If I have to stay here, so will you!"_

On the last word, two clawed hands shot from the ocean, grabbing onto two of the fusion's legs and dragging her forcefully back into the tides. The Gem yelled, form destabilising as she struggled within herself, straining with every fibre of her being against the broken consent she had brought upon _herself_. She gouged furrows in the sand with her body as she was dragged back with a scream.

Bursting from the Gems' arms, Steven barrelled forward, pulling up at the lapping shoreline. _"Lapis!"_

The fusion was submerged, shoulders-deep in the water, petrified face straining above the surface. And Lapis' yell came, breaking on the last word. _"_ _You're. . . coming. . . with ME!"_

And then they were gone.

Steven stared helplessly at the ripples left on the surface of the water, the only evidence of the horrors that lay trapped beneath.

The crackling of fire was the only sound to be heard on the otherwise deathly-silent beach.

 _"Yikes,"_ Garnet broke in, adjusting her visor. "They are _really_ bad for each other."

Steven's ringtone pierced the scene, and slowly, dazed, he reached into his pocket and drew the phone out, accepting the call. "Uhh. . . hello?"

On his left, Rose's let out a heaving sigh, and she let her shield dissipate, shoulders slumping in exhaustion. Amethyst stood alone, gaping out at the water.

 _"Steven!"_ came Connie's frantic voice. _"I got your message, are you okay? What's going on?"_

Silence.

_". . . Steven?"_

He felt a hand on his head and looked up to find Rose, gazing at him with soft, sad eyes. She knelt and he let himself fall into her arms, unsure if the trembling was his or hers. Maybe both.

The phone dropped to the sand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: Of course, Rose Quartz wasn't poofed—she was "arrested" alongside Amethyst, if you will. I'm going to write this scene out later in the beginning of this chapter, but for now I'm too tired to transcribe The Return...


	11. Rose's Dream (Zoo Arc: Part 1)

_Hibiscus flowers swayed against a lush backdrop—a grassy hill, a clear sky and a glint of pink—_

. . . _Steven?. . ._

_The voice is disembodied and distant, carried on the breeze that sways the flowers._

_Steven?. . ._

_The view is constant, locked like a video camera during a scene in a movie._

"Steven!"

Steven woke with a start, vision blurry. When he touched fingers to the dampness on his cheek, they came back with glistening water.

He became aware of the movie onscreen and sat up, wiping at his face.

"You okay, bud?" his dad asked, settling a hand on his back. "You fell asleep during the movie. I was gonna let you sleep (you looked so cute!) but, then you started crying, and. . . that was less cute."

Steven gave a soft laugh. "No, I'm fine. . . I don't know why I was crying. My dream wasn't really sad. . ." he yawned, and Greg checked his watch.

"Oh, jee, look at the time. . . _and_ my classy new watch!"

Steven stared uncomprehendingly at the golden accessory against his wrist. Greg smiled sympathetically and patted his shoulder.

"Let's get you home, bud."

○○○

". . . Eh, you didn't miss much. Turns out they were abducting cows 'cause they needed milk for their cereal planet!"

Steven stepped up onto the stairs to the beach house and paused. "Dad. Before you go . . . can I ask you something?" He turned and fixed him with a serious stare.

"Yeah, of course!" he smiled, but seeing Steven's expression, his brow creased in worry.

"Did Mom ever talk to you about. . . Pink Diamond?"

Greg stared at him for a moment, before sighing. "There were some things your mom. . . didn't like to talk about. I . . . never pressed her for details."

"Why not?" Steven felt himself growing a little desperate.

Greg shook his head and started up the stairs. "Pearl and I talked about tonnes of important stuff—music, literature, getting sand between your toes . . . you know, feelings," he said, wedging onto the step beside him. "We both made a lotta mistakes when we were young—I thought disco was coming back, she started a war. . ." Steven cringed.

"I could tell she didn't like to talk about it. She told me at one point she couldn't because of Rose." Steven's ears pricked up. "I don't know what that means, but. . . I told her, the past is the past. 'All that matters to me is who you are now'—and who she was, was . . . an incredible, smart, loving being."

Steven gave a soft smile, feeling for the gem against his forehead. That . . . felt a lot better. But he still needed answers. Making a mental note to ask Rose later, he turned and gave Greg a warm hug. "Thanks. 'Night, Dad."

"'Night, Steven."

○○○

_Hibiscus flowers swayed against a lush backdrop—a grassy hill, a clear sky. . ._

I'm here again?

_Steven craned his neck up to the clouds, and reacted with surprise when the view complied._

Guess I can look around. . .

_His eyes tracked up the branches of a tree overhead, and then scanned across the green meadow._

What is this place?

_A glint caught his eye—light refracting off a polished pink surface._

What's— what is. . .

 _He followed the arc of the thing, which led back—_ up _—to a huge, intricately patterned . . . thing. It was almost like a chamber . . . on legs?_

Whoa.

_He was just taking notice of the masses of shrub gathering around the base of the thing, flowered vines climbing the structure, when_ _—_

Steven's eyes blinked open and he sat up upon feeling something tickling his face. When he wiped at the stuff with his fingers, he found tears.

He frowned. _Again?_

He was about to lie back and try to get back to sleep, but a pink glow emanating from the living room beneath him caught his attention. Taking care to keep quiet, he slipped out of bed and tip-toed across to the edge of the loft, sinking to his knees and peering over.

Rose was sprawled on the couch below, chest rising and falling slowly, fast asleep. That wasn't surprising in itself—Rose and Amethyst both slept and ate like humans, even if Amethyst did go a bit crazy with her eating. What was surprising was the fact that the gem against Rose's navel was aglow with a warm pink light—and projected into the air was what looked a movie, tinted in pink as it beamed from her gem.

As Steven peered closer, he realised he could make out a meadow, flowers, and. . . _that thing_. Rose was having the same dream as him?

He frowned, about to call out and wake her up—but upon hearing the beep from his Cookie Cat alarm clock— **1:00am** —he decided better of it and crawled back to bed, watching the pink light as it flickered from the living room.

○○○

Steven watched the pretty sheet-snow settle around him.

"Sorry, I'll clean that up later!" Connie shouted excitedly, not sounding sorry at all. From somewhere on the floor beside her, she picked up a sizeable tome and dropped it with a _thunk!_ onto the table.

"When you told me about your dream, I thought it sounded familiar," she said, turning the cover and searching the contents page. It was remarkable that such an ancient piece of literature should be so well organised, but he supposed that was a testament to Buddwick's character. Connie picked up a handful of pages and flicked hurriedly through them, searching, until she stopped and slammed her hand down on an illustrated page.

Steven gasped. "That's it! The— 'Palan-quinn'."

"Actually, it's pronounced palan- _keen_ ," she corrected him, and further back in the house, the warp pad chimed.

Steven brightened. "It's the Gems!—I can ask Rose about this thing!" She hadn't been there when he woke up in the morning. Jumping up, he grabbed the tome and rushed over with Connie on his heels.

When the light from the pad cleared, Steven scoured the figures eagerly, and then slumped—Rose wasn't there. At his groan, Amethyst opened an eye. "Yo," she said.

"Where's Rose?" he asked Garnet. Amethyst looked a little miffed.

"She's out on patrol," Garnet returned evenly, adjusting her visor. "But. . . she might be a couple of days."

"A couple of _days_?" Steven cried. "But—I gotta ask her something!"

"You can ask us," Amethyst said.

"I guess. . . just, doesn't Rose ever tell you where she's going?"

"Nope," said Garnet. "She likes to be alone sometimes."

"Well. . . in the meantime, d'you guys know anything about this thing?" Steven held open the book for them to see.

"Hmm. . ." Amethyst stepped closer and frowned at the book, propping her hands on her hips. "Steven, you deserve to know the truth." She raised her eyes to meet his, face set.

Steven felt excitement bubble up inside him. Amethyst never hid anything from him. She'd tell him exactly what this thing was, and he could figure out what it was doing in his—and Rose's—dreams.

"And the truth is. . . I have no idea what that is I've never seen it before in my life."

He deflated. "Amethyyyst! The thing is, I had a dream where I saw this thing. Connie and I were wondering if maybe—"

"You can't go there!" Garnet suddenly cried, expression tense.

Steven blinked. ". . . Why not?"

Amethyst sidled up beside him and crossed her arms. "Yeah, why not?"

Silence.

After a moment, Steven sighed and lowered the book. "I thought you were going to tell me everything from now on."

The fusion remained silent. Feeling irritation flare up inside him, Steven held it up again and pointed. "Does this have something to do with Pink Diamond? I already know Mom shattered her, so what is it about this you can't tell me?"

Garnet stepped forward with decision. "Please. We don't need to get upset about this."

"Well I already am!" he burst out. " I _am_ upset!"

"We're. Not. Going."

Connie and Amethyst backpedalled, shooting each other a wary look.

"Pearl never wanted for you to see that place," the fusion said, steadfast.

"Pearl wanted. . ." he growled, voice rising to a shout. "What about what _I_ want?!" he swung a finger at her. "I'm sick of everyone lying to me! Pearl is _my_ Mom! Out of anyone, don't _I_ deserve to know the truth?"

Behind them, Amethyst produced a bucket of popcorn out of nowhere and began munching. She offered Connie some, who silently declined.

"This _isn't_ the time."

"I. Don't. _Care!_ I wanna go there _now_!"

"Steven!"

"I'm sorry," Connie said quietly, rubbing her neck. "I— I shouldn't have brought the book."

"Yes you should've brought it! It's lucky _something_ has some information that I don't have to get out of _THEM_!"

The two Gems present recoiled, shocked.

When Steven spoke next, his voice was calm but determined. "Connie, I need to borrow this book."

She hesitated before replying. "Okay, just be careful. . . I gotta return it to the library in a week."

"Thanks," he said, walking past her.

"Wait, Steven, where are you—"

A hand on her shoulder stopped her, and she looked up at a stern Garnet, eyes fixed on Steven as he slipped out through the door.

Sat in the middle of the staircase, Steven gazed intently at the image. The creak of the door made him look up.

"Steven—don't go. You _have_ to trust me."

He sighed and stood, turning to look up at her. "I don't understand, Garnet. At least _you're_ usually honest with me!"

"I _really_ want to be." She sighed and lowered her voice. "But if I tell you why you shouldn't go, you'll only want to go more."

" _What?_ Well now I _really_ wanna go!"

Garnet turned, with a surprised sound. "I— I shouldn't have said that. You can't go because I can't go _with_ you."

"Why not?"

She hesitated and turned away.

"Garnet, why not?"

"I. . . I'm scared. I, I. . . I can't get near her."

"Ah! _Her!_ Her who!"

"Ahh, shoot! Now I've made it more interesting! Steven please, just stay here." She removed her visor and gazed at him with three wide eyes. "For me."

His gaze dropped. "I won't."

Garnet only sighed. "I know."

He trotted off determinedly down the stairs.

○○○

Greg was asleep, splayed across the mattress in his van, when a banging on the door jolted him awake.

He scrambled forward and opened the doors to Steven, clutching a thick, leather-bound book. "Dad, I need your help!"

"Is everything o—"

"There's this place I saw in a dream, and it's real! But the Gems won't tell me anything about it!" he pointed at the map displayed on a stained page. "It has something to do with Pink Diamond. I know you didn't wanna get involved with Mom's past but. . . I wanna know the truth! Doesn't that matter _at all_?"

His voice was shrill, his eyes wide. Greg stared at him for a moment before softening. "Of course it does."

The boy appeared to calm a little. "Really?"

Greg nodded and held out his hand. "Lemme see that."

Steven passed the book to him, marking the page, and he examined the map for a moment. "And the Gems won't take you?"

"No." His shoulders slumped defeatedly.

Greg smiled. "Well I know a guy who will!"

○○○

Andy DeMayo had only been too happy to give his cousins a lift in his bushplane. Such a small aircraft did have its drawbacks, though—they made it to Korea via stops in Alaska and Russia. When they finally touched down and farewelled Andy (promising to call him when they found their way back to Beach City, as Steven was sure the Gems would take them back), Greg had insisted they take it easy and have a little fun while they were here. Steven certainly couldn't object to that.

Needless to say, South Korea was amazing. Bustling cities full of lights and billboards and screens; and clogging up the roads, beeping taxis, friendly locals and hurried tourists.

They went shopping, tried the local food, visited the Heungnyemun Gate and tried on traditional garb. After purchasing a pair of branded shirts and a load of new clothes (which Steven certainly wouldn't wear but Greg insisted on anyway), they finally caught a bus to the Seorjjungsan mountains.

"Kamsahamni— da?" Greg called upon their disembarkment, and stared dolefully after the retreating vehicle.

"What's the hurry?" he mumbled, and turned and almost ran into Steven, who was examining the map.

"This is it," he said, and began to walk.

"You sure this is the place?" Greg called after him, lugging shopping bags up the hill.

"Yeah!" Steven called back, "It's hard to explain but. . . I can feel it."

"Huh. . . sure is pretty here." Greg gazed around at the masses of hibiscus bushes, blooming with delicate pink flowers. "So does any of this look familiar to you?"

Steven stopped abruptly in his path. "Steven?"

He was staring intently at the book. When Greg leaned forward to look at him, his face was streaming with fat tears. "Whoa, are you okay?" He glanced worriedly at the book, thinking he may have stumbled across something upsetting—but he found nothing except the map sprawled across the aged pages.

"It's happening again," Greg pushed, gauging his reaction.

"I-I'm fine. Let's keep going."

"Come on. . . let's take a break," he offered tentatively, glancing back down the hill. "I think this mountain's really messing me up."

"No, Dad! This can only mean we're getting closer!" He shot him a brusque smile and forged on. "C'mon!"

Hesitantly, Greg trailed behind him until they reached a high mesh fence. Nailed (somehow) to the criss-crossing wires were two signs—one shouted **KEEP OUT** , accentuated with bold Korean symbols and a crossed-out stick figure; the one below was a little more mellow, wooden and scrawled with a _PLEASE!_ and dotted with cartoon flowers. Steven thought that handwriting looked familiar.

"Look!" Steven cried, a little unnecessarily.

"This feels familiar," Greg grumbled, eyeing the signs.

"Dad, help me jump the fence."

Steven's expression was stern, fixed unwaveringly on the fence, but still flowed with tears not his own.

Behind him, Greg gulped. "Oh boy, we're doing this."

Steven dropped down lightly on the other side of the fence. Greg thumped heavily to the ground beside him with a _whoompf!_.

"Your dad really can't jump fences like he used to," he wheezed from the ground.

"Dad. . . look."

Greg raised his head to Steven's receding figure. With a groan, he hauled himself up and followed. He didn't bother with the bags; they could come back for them later.

They came to a stop in front of a huge, polished blue structure hung with curtains. It sat on what looked like angled legs and inside sat a grand carved throne.

"This is it! But. . . it's different?" Steven gazed up in confusion at the pristine palanquin. "In my dream it was all broken down and pink! This one's in perfect condition!"

"Maybe it got a paint job?" Greg suggested dubiously.

_"Oh, Pink. . ."_

A low voice echoed back to them from somewhere close. When Steven turned his eyes darted past pink and he found he could just make out a blue, hooded figure through the leaves of an obstructing bush. Wait—pink?

His eyes dropped again to the big-haired figure crouching behind said bush.

_"Rose??"_

The Gem in question wheeled around, eyes wide and flicking around before they landed on him. ". . . Steven??"

"Rose!" he ran to her, her arms flinging open just in time to catch him. Greg padded wearily up to them.

"Rose, I've got so many questions," Steven whispered.

_"I'm sorry."_

They turned at the voice and gazed beyond the bush. The huge figure was kneeling in front of—in front of the pink palanquin! Beside the figure, a small blue Gem knelt on the ground.

Steven gasped and pointed. "About that! About the palanquin!"

Rose hurriedly clamped a gentle hand over his mouth. "Later, Steven," she hushed, and watched the figure through the bush.

_"I'm so sorry. I should have done more. Yellow says it'll all be over soon. . . I wonder what you would think. This is your planet, after all. . . I still think it is."_

"Rose, do you know her?" Greg whispered.

Suddenly, Rose buckled to the ground, letting him go in favour to support herself with her hands. Thick tears spilled from her eyes, and her body shook. As he watched her, Steven's vision blurred too, but he remained upright.

"Whoa!—Rose, what's wrong!" Greg cried.

"Not again," she only moaned. "Not again! I thought. . . I thought I'd never. . ."

"My dreams. . . I was seeing through her eyes!" Steven breathed, and wiped at the onslaught of water. "I've been crying her tears!"

Rose's head jerked up, and with effort, she wiped at her own tears. " _Your_ dreams? I—" Suddenly comprehending, she clutched at the gem against her navel. "Oh, no! No no no! I'm so sorry!"

_"What are you doing over there?"_

They all froze at the deep voice. Light footsteps were approaching.

"I thought I heard someone," said another, higher voice above their heads.

"Don't worry, I'll handle this," Greg whispered, and shot Rose a nervous smile and gave Steven's shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"I think we're not alone," the small blue Gem said, and Greg abruptly stood, earning a small gasp of surprise.

"Ayyy! Uh, nice day out, huh? I— I didn't see you there, what's uh, what's. . . up?" Steven cringed as he heard his clicking finger-guns.

The hooded figure in front of the palanquin straightened. _"Pearl?"_

The aforementioned Gem turned and gave some sort of foreign salute. "My Diamond, I've found a native."

She curtseyed and Greg clambered out of the bushes.

"Oh, uh—yeah! I'm from here alright! I am your host, your. . . Highness." He didn't quite know what to refer to her by, exactly, but that seemed the most appropriate.

The figure turned just enough to expose the lower half of a thin, blue face.

_"Bring it here."_

The smaller Gem straightened and, clasping her hands, went to the Diamond. Greg followed.

 _"Dad, no!"_ Steven called, as quietly as he could manage. His father didn't hear him. Beside Steven, Rose clamped a hand over her own mouth, tears still flowing, and turned to peek through the bushes.

Upon reaching the figure, the small blue Gem curtseyed again and stood behind Greg.

 _"How curious,"_ came the low voice. _"I'm impressed by humanity's ability to survive in the wild."_

The voice seemed to grow weaker, quieter. _"What a strange planet. Where else would a being as fragile as a human live, while a being as powerful as a Diamond perish?"_

The large Gem (undoubtedly a Gem, by now, Steven thought) gestured to the palanquin. _"This is where it happened. Where she was broken."_

Rose gave out a strangled gasp, and Steven's eyes widened.

"Were you close?" He started at his father's voice.

The Gem paused for a moment before replying. _"Very."_

A sob from Rose, and she bunched her hands in her hair, as if in pain.

Greg sighed. "Ah. . . I'm awfully sorry. I know how hard it is to move on when you've lost someone."

To Steven's shock, the figure then turned, exposing a long, mournful face, framed by white tufts of hair. The eyes were huge and blue, wet with tears. As another tear dripped down the Gem's face, Steven felt his own eye water. Rose looked to be struggling to keep herself upright on her knees.

"I lost someone very important to me, too," Greg continued. "I miss her every single day and I think about her all the time. But. . . she's never coming back. That feeling can be so hard to be okay with."

 _"I'm surprised that a human being is capable of understanding how I feel."_ She turned back and and gazed sorrowfully at the palanquin. _"It's a shame."_

Slowly, she stood, drawing her rippling robes with her. _"There's a geo-weapon incubating in your planet that will destroy everything, shortly. But. . . you don't deserve that, do you?"_ She turned and gave him a small smile.

_"No,"_ Rose whispered in horror.

Greg stood transfixed, not quite believing. "Geo-weapon, huh?"

 _"You know, I really shouldn't be here."_ The large Gem kneeled down and spoke playfully, almost as if she were conversing with a favourite pet. _"But I'm glad I came back one last time. I can save one last piece of her legacy."_

Greg smiled. "Oh, yeah?"

A huge blue hand darted out from underneath the cloak and snatched him off the ground.

"Dad!" Steven cried, panicked.

"Greg!" Rose shouted, at the same time.

The huge Gem straightened and raised a hand. At her signal, a leviathan blue hand rose from somewhere behind a nearby mountain and into the air. _Larger than her? How was that possible?_

"That's a. . . big arm," Greg stammered.

Steven heard something behind him and ducked just in time to avoid being struck by the blue palanquin. It could fly, too?!

"Put me down, please!" Greg's desperate cry echoed across the landscape. "Whoa, whoa! Put me down, your Highness!"

The Gem heeded him none, just ducked into the palanquin and sat, her tiny companion following suit.

Steven tumbled out of the bushes. "Dad, DAD!"

Just as he would have reached it, the palanquin flew up into the sky, higher, higher, until it reached the hand—the ship? the hand-ship?—and disappeared into its clenched fist.

 _"Stop!"_ Steven cried, and crouched to leap.

"Steven, wait!" Rose cried, flinging an arm out.

With all his strength he launched himself up at the ship, flying higher, higher, the ground receding beneath him, the trees shrinking into pinpricks—

He stretched an arm out, reaching for the ship—

It turned and shot into the atmosphere, warping out of sight and blasting him back towards the ground with the force of its afterfire.

Steven gave up and went limp, falling, staring helplessly at the spot he had last seen it. "Dad. . ."

He was caught up in two strong arms, and he closed his eyes, resigning himself to the warm hold as he and Rose drifted back down.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered tearfully.

"Steven, I'm sorry!— _Rose?_ "

He opened his eyes and gave a start at the new voice. "Garnet?!"

She ran to them and let her visor fizzle away. He saw her eyes glint with regret. "I saw you come here, I saw Blue Diamond on Earth, I saw her see me and find all of us!—I couldn't be here with you!"

"She took my Dad! It's all my fault— I— I should have listened to you! . . . What are we gonna do, Garnet?"

Garnet's face hardened.

"We're going to space." She pulled him out of Rose's warm arms and set Steven on the ground, resting a firm hand on his shoulder. "We're going to get him _back_." ****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I searched high and low for mountains that resembled the ones in this episode, and that were also in the right location—the middle of the South Korean west coast (and couldn't find any), so let me present to you, Seorjjungsan: A Crash Course in Fictional Linguistics:
> 
> — Seojj = part of seojjog (meaning "west")
> 
> — Jung = part of junggan (meaning "middle")
> 
> — So seojjog + junggan = seojjunggan
> 
> — Seojjunggan to SeojjungSAN—all Korean mountains have the suffix san (meaning "mountain")
> 
> — Seor = part of Seoraksan (the mountains that have the most semblance to the ones in the show)
> 
> — Seojjungsan + homage to Seoraksan (or just Seorak) = Seorjjungsan


	12. Gem Heist (Zoo Arc: Part 2)

As their ship drifted closer to the enormous pink structure, the Gems grew quiet. The tension in the air was palpable. Steven noticed with mild alarm the Red Eye floating nearby, keeping watch.

"The Human Zoo," Rose murmured. "I can't believe. . . they kept it."

"Dad's gotta be in there," Steven affirmed, brushing off her strange comment. "We just have to find him and bust him out."

Surprisingly, as they neared the entry bay, the panels opened easily. Still, everyone held their breath as they passed through the security field into the port. No alarms went off, no guards came running.

The crew exhaled as the vehicle drifted into a vacant bay. Two large figures flanked the doors ahead and Amethyst gasped. "Those Gems. . ."

"Oh no," Rose breathed, suddenly realising. "We can't go in like this! We—We'll be caught!"

"We just need disguises!" Steven offered hopefully. "I'll be _Esteban Universidad_!"

Rose gave a small laugh. "I'm sorry Steven, but it doesn't matter what your name is." Her brows furrowed. "We're all going to stand out."

Behind them, Garnet shrunk down and unfused, leaving Ruby and Sapphire standing together, hand-in-hand. "We won't stand out if we play the roles we were made for," Sapphire said.

"Ruby! Sapphire!" Steven cried, delightedly.

"Okay everybody, hear her out," Ruby hushed.

"Today, I'm a Sapphire travelling with my Ruby guard." Ruby nodded. "Esteban, I brought you as an offering for the Zoo."

Steven brought his hands to his face in mock horror. _"Pobrecito Esteban!"_

"Uhh. . . What about us?"

Sapphire turned to Amethyst, gazing worriedly at Rose. "You two are accompanying me as extra muscle."

"Muscle like them?" Amethyst glanced worriedly at the guards stationed outside.

"Exactly."

"But I've never even _seen_ another Amethyst before! What do I do? What if I say something wrong!"

"Just look the part," Sapphire soothed. "You're new, and we're rusty. We just have to sell this long enough to find Greg."

"Is this really going to work?" Rose asked worriedly.

"No."

Everyone stiffened.

"Just— stick together!" the smaller Gem said hurriedly, plastering on a nervous smile. "Play it straight! Let's. . . change the future!"

Amethyst nodded, shifting larger and branding herself with a Quartz uniform. The Gems turned to Rose. She stood, frozen.

"Rose Quartzes," she breathed. "They were all captured and bubbled eons ago."

_"What?"_ Steven cried. "Then how are we gonna get you in?!"

"Rose, you'll have to shapeshift," Sapphire said. "But you'll have to hide your real gem somehow."

Rose swallowed nervously and nodded.

○○○

"You'll never cage me, you rockheads!"

The commotion made the Amethyst guards turn their heads. The motley crew filed out of the ship one by one, Steven struggling against Ruby's gentle grip.

As they advanced, the guards took stock of the newcomers. The Amethyst bumbled awkwardly and the pink Pearl followed with her head bowed, hands clasped in front of her around a smooth gem that corresponded in placement with the Sapphire. Her hair was short and tufty, her feet clad in ballet shoes and the dress she wore had puffed sleeves and a knee-length, multi-layered skirt. The human seemed to extremely purposefully avert his eyes from the Pearl. The only Gems who seemed to be completely within their element was the aforementioned Sapphire and the Ruby, the former of which strode hurriedly, back straight, and the latter who stuck rather close to the Sapphire, but that was to be expected, as her personal guard.

The fairer of the two guards shot her partner a look. These Gems had obviously been out of commission for quite a while. This could be fun.

She spoke in a growl. "State your purpose."

"I'm here to make a delivery to the Human Zoo," the Sapphire replied.

The guards shared another look and grinned. "Bad news. The Human Zoo's shut down," the first continued, and advanced on the group, pressing her face close to the tiny human's. "Which means we'll just have to throw _you_ into _space_."

Steven squirmed, sweat beading on his forehead. He felt his hands burn a little as Ruby's temperature rose. He yelped, and her hands abruptly cooled.

"Heh! Look, he believed me," the guard suddenly said, and straightened, nudging her partner and sniggering.

Sharp clacks echoed down the hallway and the Amethysts jumped to attention. In the doorway stood a well-built blue Gem, standing taller than the guards in white heels, her face fixed in a snarl.

"What are you doing?" she demanded, grey eyes cutting into the guards.

 _"Nothing, Holly Blue Agate!"_ the guards stammered in unison, and straightened in identical salutes.

The Agate surveyed the group before her disapprovingly before settling on Sapphire. She gasped and, in a show of violence that startled Steven, kicked one of the Amethysts hard in the shins. She grimaced in pain.

"Why didn't you tell me there was a _Sapphire_ here?" she hissed, making no effort to quieten her voice. "What have you miscreants been saying to them?!"

"Nothing, Holly," the fair Amethyst insisted, arms rigid.

Holly Blue Agate turned to the newcomers with a charming laugh. "You'll have to forgive them—they're from _Earth_." She shot the guards a look. _"Ahem! Apologise."_

They turned obediently. _"Forgive us."_

Holly Blue delivered a swift punch to the closest Amethyst, knocking her into her companion, their forearm gems clinking sharply. They both shared a sympathetic look before trying again. _"Forgive us, your Clarity."_

"No use dwelling on the past," Sapphire said, a little hurriedly. "I've brought a new human for the collection."

"How unprecedented!" Holly gasped. "Nothing for millennia, and then two humans back-to-back! Well, it's probably for the best. That first one wasn't in the. . . best condition."

Steven gasped. "Dad! That's him!"

 _"Shh,"_ Ruby hushed. Amethyst eyed the Agate warily.

"Oh, their incessant barking! What is it saying?" Holly Blue laughed again. "The other one was loud too. And all that thrashing about!"

Steven felt a cold shiver run down his spine.

"I'm sure Blue Diamond will want to thank you personally, but you _just_ missed her!"

Steven and Ruby exhaled in unison.

Holly Blue turned to the guards. "Amethyst, take this human to the—"

"Wait!" Sapphire stepped forward in a panic, and then took a breath, steadying herself. "The thing is. . . we've travelled so far, and. . . it'd be a shame to leave so quickly. Perhaps you'd grant us a tour of the facility?"

"I would be honoured!" Holly Blue said eagerly, and stepped aside to gesture through the doorway. "Right this way, your Grand Clarity!"

The group filed through, but just as Amethyst would have passed the threshold, Holly Blue blocked her from entry. "Amethysts are to stay and guard the door," she said loudly.

Amethyst bristled nervously. "Uhh, but. . ."

"The _door_." Under her icy gaze, Amethyst hesitantly stepped back in line with the other guards, shoulders squared and back straight. With that, Holly Blue turned and strode off with the others, leaving her behind with the guards. Rose-as-Steven's-mother shot her a worried look over her shoulder before hastening to keep stride with Sapphire.

Holly Blue grimaced and shot her a look, addressing her supposed owner. "Does your pearl always walk next to you?"

Rose-as-Pearl ducked her head even lower, slowing to walk behind them.

"Hmm," came the Agate's demeaning hum. Rose-as-Pearl flushed.

"This facility originally belonged to Pink Diamond and houses and staffs the otherwise useless quartzes she produced on what _was_ her colony," Holly Blue droned. Steven noticed Rose stiffen, holding her clasped hands rigidly at her navel, before the Agate picked up again with enthusiasm. "But Blue Diamond and her trusted Agate—that's me!—have been maintaining this place since the dawn of Era 2."

Holly Blue stopped in front of an angled door and Sapphire caught herself beside her just in time. Reading her movements, the others slowed behind them.

A few seconds passed.

Holly Blue twisted to look at the pink Pearl, but spoke to Sapphire. "Is she going to do it or. . . should I say something?"

"Oh! Pearl, the door," Sapphire fumbled.

Rose-as-Pearl didn't say anything for a moment, obviously not connecting the name, before she gasped and hurried forward to stop in front of a doorside panel, faltering as she scanned over the interface.

"You are so patient with her!" the Agate mused, as if she wasn't there at all. "How _do_ you do it?"

Steven frowned.

"As a Sapphire, I know it will happen eventually."

Carefully angling her body away from Holly so as to hide her real gem, Rose-as-Pearl managed to unlock the door a second later and then re-clasped her hands and stood by as they walked through.

"That will be all," Holly Blue said, waving a dismissive hand at her.

Rose-as-Pearl inclined her head, brows furrowed.

"Sorry," Sapphire whispered as she passed.

"Hang in there," Steven supplied, his eyes glued to the floor. Ruby flashed her a thumbs-up.

"Do keep up, pearl," Holly Blue called over her shoulder.

She said nothing as she locked the door behind them and hurried to keep up.

Holly Blue slowed beside another interface and activated a panel beneath their feet, which faded into transparency, treating them all to a bird's-eye view of the leviathan complex beneath them, hovering in space. Beyond it, they could make out the patrolling Red Eye.

"The bottom half of this structure is devoted entirely to specimen containment," Holly Blue supplied, her voice taking on a condescending tone. "Apparently, humans don't take well to _captivity_. But once you understand their needs, they're easy to control."

She returned the panel to its original solid form and continued walking, jabbering as she went. "It's tragic that Pink Diamond's existence in this universe ended up being so finite, but what a selfless act for Blue Diamond to step forward and spend her own time and energy _preserving_ this place in Pink Diamond's memory! It's a _real_ testament to Blue Diamond's _merciful_ and _giving_ nature, don't you think?"

"Oh— of course," Sapphire replied weakly.

Behind Steven, Ruby growled.

"Hold it together, Ruby," he whispered. "Our roles, remember? Gotta 'Esteban' it."

"And past this way, our preservation sector, and here of course is the human disposal chute."

Steven caught onto the Agate's last words with horrifying clarity. "Whaaaa—! How— How do you get in the Zoo?!"

"Oh, there it goes again. With its hilarious noises."

Steven gritted his teeth, sweat dripping.

"So. . . how do you get in the Zoo?" Sapphire tried.

"Excellent question, your Grand Clarity!" Holly Blue exclaimed, servility apparent. "On the rare occasion that we would need to enter the containment area, we would do so via this service door."

The door she stopped in front of was engraved with curving patterns and two five-petalled flowers—one on each panel. Inside the flowers sat what looked like five-pointed equilateral diamonds. Off to the side was another dormant interface and framing the door were two polyfaceted pillars, carved in the midsection into what looked like human figures with very prominent ears.

"Dad," Steven whispered to his lower-caste companions, "That door's how we get to Dad. We just need to come up with a distraction!"

"Got it!" Ruby whispered back, and let go of him, looking around for anything of use. Rose-as-Pearl remained silent.

"As a one-way access point there are no risks of escape. In fact, it's only been used once for a human—"

_"EXPLOSION!"_

Holly Blue turned to the animated Ruby. _"Pardon me?"_

"Uhh," Ruby stammered. Steven sighed at her impulsive nature. "I just remembered I left the gravity engine. . . idling! I'm sorry, my Sapphire I'm, so forgetful and disposable!"

"What?" the other replied, a hint of panic in her voice.

Ruby flicked her eyes at the door.

". . . a, foreseen turn of events! Yes," she recovered, turning to Holly Blue, who leaned closer, ever attentive. "It is going to overheat and explode. The damage will be massive."

"My _word_! I don't know why anyone trusts rubies with those _ships_! This is what _happens_!"

"If we hurry, we can disable the engine before any damage is done. It should only take _five minutes_ , so everyone be on your _best behaviour_."

Turning away so the Agate wouldn't see, Sapphire lifted her fringe and blinked purposefully at the Gems. Confused, their eyes flicked to Ruby, who gave her a saucy wink back.

"This way, your Clarity," Holly Blue gestured, "Although I'm sure _you_ don't need _my_ guidance."

As soon as their footsteps receded, Rose shifted back to her Quartz form with a relieved sigh, and Ruby burst. " _Aaarrgh!_ I can't believe all that stuff about Blue Diamond being _merciful_ —she's a _shatterer_! She yelled at Sapphire, she hates _fusion_ , and _LOVE_ —"

"I know, Ruby," Steven hushed. "But we don't have much time! We have to open this door!"

"Right, right," the Gem replied. "Pe— Rose, open it!"

The Quartz padded over to the interface and activated the screen, pausing. "This— This is new," she murmured.

"How do you know?" Steven asked.

She stiffened a little when she realised she had said it aloud. "Ah, it's— see the three-diamond insignia? That means it was made after Pink Diamond's shattering," she stammered, and moved in front of the panel to block Steven's view when he craned his neck. She examined the screen for a moment before swiping her finger across the panel. It flashed red.

"Hmm. . ."

She swiped in another direction this time. The panel flashed red.

Twenty seconds and forty-three combinations later she stepped back and frowned. "Could we. . . try something else?"

"But Rose, you're usually good with Gem technology!" Steven cried.

 _"What?"_ Ruby cried. "We don't have time for this! Steven, help me open the door!"

"Okay!"

"And Rose, figure something out!"

Sixty-nine combinations, ninety-seven punches, forty-three scratch marks and twelve flaming footsteps later they still found themselves at square one. Ruby sank to the floor, wailing frustratedly against the polished glass.

Steven slumped against the door himself, hope deflating. Rose stood at the panel, pondering for a moment, and then, looking around and making sure no one else was in the corridors, she extended her palm out to the interface, the gem on her navel flickering to life.

 _"I am_ so glad _we're almost back! I was really enjoying the_ tour _!"_

Sapphire's droning voice echoed down the corridor and they all froze, Rose yanking her hand back and shifting down into Pearl's form, saturated pink. Steven averted his eyes.

"Yes, I can tell by the tone of your voice," Holly Blue smiled. "Thank you so much again for averting that crisis— _Oh my!_ —"

She stopped with a scandalised gasp as she noticed the defaced door. All flaunting anxious grins, the Gems stood animatedly around the door, Rose-as-Pearl leaning far-too-casually against the interface, a hand in front of her stomach; Steven standing with his hands on his hips in the centre of the floor; and Ruby beside him looking like a crazy action figure. Sapphire clasped her hands over her mouth.

 _"What is going on?"_ the Agate demanded, striding purposefully forward. Steven gulped. He could feel the temperature rise as Ruby grew tense. Sapphire hurried behind her.

"Oh, well, I'm sure there's a reason for—"

"Did you see the Amethyst that did this?"

Hearing Holly Blue's words, all four exhaled loudly. She stepped forward and examined the damage. " _Really_ , we have _guests_!"

Thumping footsteps echoed down the hallway and two miscoloured Amethyst guards came sprinting up.

"Holly Blue Agate! We have important news for you!"

"We do not RUN or _SHOUT IN THESE HALLWAYS_!" she bellowed.

The Amethyst's voice dropped a few decibels. "I'm sorry, i-it's just—"

"How am I supposed to know what you're saying when you're MUMBLING?"

The guards glanced at each other before one spoke. "I'm sorry Holly Blue Agate it's just—"

"Blue Diamond is on her way!" the other finished.

"Oh my Stars! She's back already!" Holly Blue exclaimed, shoving Ruby and Steven out of the way and sashaying forward. "You two, _best_ behaviour! Shoulders _squared_! Minds _cleared_! Backs _straight_!" With each emphasised word she squeezed their shoulders, smashed their heads together and punched their backs.

Sporting a cheery smile, Holly Blue turned to Sapphire. "And surely Blue Diamond will want to thank you _personally_ for this special delivery, your Grand Clarity!"

"Yes, I suppose. . . she will," Sapphire replied meekly.

Ruby's face contorted in panic. The temperature rose another degree.

The heat seemed to fuel Holly Blue Agate in her violent rampage. "Well don't just stand there, you useless chunks of earth!" she shouted at the Amethysts. "Make yourself useful and escort that human to the assimilation bay!"

Without hesitation they moved forward and bundled Steven up, striding past Holly Blue.

_"Steven!"_ came Rose's shrill voice, and then an audible slap, as if she had clamped a hand over her own mouth.

"But— the tour!" he heard Sapphire cry behind him.

"Oh, my Clarity, you flatter me. But we really must get ready—our Diamond will be here at any moment!"

Three dark, closed-off corridors later they came to a stop at a panel embedded into the wall. "Let me go, you bigger Amethyst!" Steven cried, squirming in the guard's grip.

"Huh," she mused. "These newer humans are so spunky. In you go!"

And with that, she dropped him into the opening, panels sliding closed behind him.

He barely had time to sit up before the space became awash with neon light and the ground beneath him began moving. When he turned, he found himself on some sort of conveyor belt, walled off from space by a large transparent tube, being ferried towards the top of the huge floating structure they called the Human Zoo.

As soon as the pink walls closed in around him, he became subject to dozens of harassing blue digits, capturing his profile, examining his teeth, squishing his face, checking his pupil dilation, taking his temperature, shoving themselves up his nostrils, undressing him, disinfecting him, cladding him in naturalist garb and finally attaching a pair of futuristic accessories to his earlobes. When finally the blue digits retreated, he found himself walled off in a transparent cube.

He stood, shouting and waving his hands animatedly, expecting the worst. "Okay! What else, huh? What else you got for me?! I'm on that dad-mission adrenaline rush, and ready for whatever space junk you have next! Futuristic cattle prods, human horseshoes, whatever you got, _come and give me!_ "

What happened next wasn't quite what he expected. From somewhere above him a rush of water crashed down and filled the cube, levitating him off the ground. A human-sized hole opened beneath him in the bottom of the cube and a strong current pulled him through, sending him plummeting in liquid down, down, zigzagging through the atmosphere, tumbling and turning, and finally tossing him up (up?) into the air, and back down again as he crashed into shallow water. He pushed himself up, coughing and gagging, and opened his eyes.

What he saw wasn't at all anything like what he expected. He was surrounded by sand, and beyond that, lush green grass—blossoming trees framed the sky and the dome above him was bright and blue and housed its own miniature sun, beaming down warm light and setting the water sparkling.

On the bank across from him, sat on the checkered grass were three figures, all clad in purple and white robes, passing fingers through braided hair and leaving colourful flowers in their wake. The closest looked to be a young woman with fair skin and blonde hair that bounced around her shoulders. The farthest was a healthy man of around the same age with smooth, dark skin and curly black hair. The middlemost was stout and tubby, pale skin peeking out from underneath clothes and sharply meeting with a line of sunburn. Their hair was incredibly long and on top of their head sat a delicate flower crown. When they turned around, Steven could make out a trimmed beard and an easy smile—

_"Dad?"  
_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: Rose/Pink knows how to work the doors and other control panels because she rarely asked her own Pearl to activate them for her, and she also liked to spend time at the Zoo before the Rebellion.
> 
> Rose also has a "knack" with electronics because they recognise her diamond and open for her :D (No one else knows this though)


	13. That Will Be All (Zoo Arc: Part 3)

"You two are in _big_ trouble," the Amethyst had snarled, and promptly marched them out of the paradise.

A maze of darkened corridors later they finally found themselves in front of a squat door. She opened the panels using the interface and dropped them on the floor inside.

"These the ones?" she said.

Ominous laughter echoed from all points of the room, suddenly split by a frantic cry.

_"Steven! Greg!"_

A huddle of large Amethysts parted to reveal Amethyst— _their_ Amethyst—struggling in the muscular arms of another purple Gem. "They found me out!"

"Amethyst!" Steven cried.

"You won't believe what I'm been through! These Amethysts are really, really. . . GREAT!"

_"What?"_

Suddenly, the whole chamber was rumbling with laughter.

"Your faces!" their captor crooned.

"You were right, that was priceless!" the Gem holding Amethyst cried, and she let her down. The smaller Quartz wasted no time in rushing back to her friends and sweeping Steven up in a hug.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I had to! What are you _wearing_?" she pulled back and turned to his dad, pushing himself up on quaking legs. "Greg, this is a good look for you!"

"What is going on?!" Steven cried desperately.

"These Amethysts— they're all from Earth! They're from the Prime Kindergarten! Wait— hey, 8XL!"

A dark-skinned Amethyst across the room smiled. "Yeah?"

"You guys, I'm an eight!" his friend shot a pointed look at the other Gem. "Tell 'em, tell 'em!"

She grinned. "The Amethyst under me never popped out. We were all waiting and. . . pfft, nothing."

"I'm 8XM! Facet-5, Cut-8XM, that's me!" Amethyst said excitedly, and swung her finger at the others. "That's 8XG, that's 8XH. . ."

"I'm J," the Gem in question corrected.

"Aw jeez, sorry, I'm worse than Holly Blue!" Amethyst mourned.

"Aren't we all?"

Another ripple of laughter.

"Prime, Prime, Prime. You Amethysts are so clique-y." Steven turned to a slender orange Gem across the room.

"Skinny's a Jasper!" Amethyst explained excitedly. "There are Gems here from the Beta Kindergarten too! Hey, where's Carnelian?"

"Celebrating," Skinny grinned.

 _"I'm not the shortest anymore!"_ A tiny red Gem burst out of nowhere and snatched Amethyst up in a tackle, prompting more laughter.

"This is unreal," Greg murmured.

"Hey!" Steven called over the din. "Please, if you don't mind me asking, we really need your help. We came in with Sapphire, Ruby and Rose—we've gotta find them and get out of—"

At that moment, the door behind him slid open with a hiss, and a familiar snobby voice floated through.

"I'll only be a moment," said Holly Blue Agate, and in a panic, Steven grabbed Greg's hand and pulled him off behind a cluster of Amethysts.

Holly Blue strode in calmly, door sliding shut behind her, and then promptly burst. " _What_ are you all doing in here? _Get to your stations!_ Even you hideous off-colour Betas, get _out_ of your cubbies and into your _places_!" She went about, shoving Gems aside, pulling them from their resting compartments. "It's the _least_ you can do for the Diamond that kept your worthless sorry gems in service."

A quiet ripple went through the room. "That's right, Blue is back already!" her voice dropped dangerously low. "Now go pretend your filthy vein quartz is capable of GRATITUDE!" she strode over to the door and unlocked it, turning to glare at the mob. _"GO, GO, GO!"_

Steven noticed Ruby, Sapphire and Rose-as-Pearl scrambling on the other side of the door. It looked like they had been attempting to listen in. They hurriedly crushed themselves against the wall as the horde of Amethysts thundered past, Steven and Greg rushing to keep up and stay hidden.

"Disperse, my Diamond is waiting!" Holly shouted.

"Run! Just run," Amethyst said in a panic, pushing them down the corridor. "I'll find you, go!"

○○○

Steven activated and ran through the first door he saw. Perhaps not such a wise decision, as it shut with a _clang!_ behind them as soon as they were inside. When he raised his eyes, he was surprised to be met with hundreds—no, _thousands_ —of pink bubbled gems hovering around the room.

"Who bubbled all these Gems?" he whispered.

They were standing on raised platform, accessible by a large set of stairs against either wall. Dotted around the room were tall faceted pillars, and settled in the recess between the stairs was a gigantic plush pillow. The whole room was pink. When Steven craned his neck, he found above him not a pink ceiling, but an enormous glass dome. Beyond the glass, tiny jewel-like stars glittered against an inky void. Startlingly close, a gigantic orange ball—a ringed planet—loomed over the comparatively tiny room.

Greg gazed up at the masses of bubbles clustered around the ceiling. "Wow. It's kinda like a birthday party in here."

Steven's eyes began to water, and he started, pulling his father behind one of the towering columns. "Oh no—we gotta hide!"

And not a second too soon. On the far side of the room, a dizzyingly large set of doors slid open to reveal the same hunched hooded figure from before. At her feet stood her small blue companion.

Blue Diamond padded into the room, her soft footsteps resounding like thunder. _"Pearl, close the door,"_ came her low voice.

The Gem behind her obediently locked the door and stood by, waiting.

With a sigh, Blue Diamond sank to her knees on the prepared cushion and lifted slender blue hands to push back the hood. Her face was long and thin, with a dainty nose and disproportionately plump lips. Her eyes shone with tears, shadowed by dark bags, and even as Steven watched, the water trailed down her face as she blinked. The pale hair that tumbled from her hood reached just below her shoulders, and at the front, it hung in a connected loop across her chest, framing the large blue diamond settled against her breast.

Unexpectedly, the door opened again with a groan, and there stood another tall figure, this one rigid and proud. The spiked helmet on her head gave her an extra few feet of height and the gemstone against her chest glinted warmly.

_Yellow Diamond._

There was a frown on her face when she spoke. _"Please tell me you're joking."_

She took a few booming steps forward. _"You only just left, and you're already_ back _?"_

 _"Yellow! Wh-What are you doing here?"_ Blue Diamond straightened and wiped at her face with a sleeve.

 _"I'm here to bring you back to reality, Blue,"_ she replied, as if that were obvious.

_"I'm fine, just. . . leave me alone."_

_"It's been thousands of years, Blue, and you_ still _can't bring yourself to destroy these Gems?"_ she said, gesturing at the throng of bubbles. _"She was SHATTERED by a Rose Quartz—the entire cut of Gem deserves the same fate."_

 _"But they were_ hers _,"_ Blue fought meekly.

 _"They should be wiped out of existence, not kept safe in_ bubbles _!"_

Steven pulled his father back to the door they came through. The interface would not respond to his fingers.

_"Yellow, she made them. This is all we have left of her. These gems, this place, and the Earth."_

_"I thought we agreed we need to put that planet and this whole_ debacle _behind us!"_

Noticing their vulnerable position, Steven hurried back over to the pillars, Greg in tow.

 _"_ Why _can't you just let me_ grieve _."_

_"You can't keep coming here forever!"_

_"Why_ not _?"_

Greg tapped his shoulder. When Steven turned, his eyes settled upon the tall doors on the far side of the room.

Behind them, Yellow Diamond sighed. _"Pearl. Do something. Sing for her—make her feel better."_

"Yes, my Diamond," her Pearl replied with enthusiasm. She cleared her throat and nudged her blue companion, and together they struck up a warbling tune.

With the noise as a diversion, Steven and his dad ran behind the next pillar.

 _"_ Why _would you want to be here? What do you ever see here that doesn't make you feel_ worse _than you do?"_ Yellow Diamond bent down to meet Blue's eyes. _"Tell me, what's the use of_ feeling _, Blue?"_

Blue Diamond hung her head, which urged Yellow to continue her lecture. _"Why would you want to save the subjects that_ destroyed _her?"_ she stood and with a wave of her arms cleared the bubbles from around her head. _"Why keep up her silly Zoo?_ _An army has a use; they can go and fight a war. A Sapphire has a use; she can tell you the outcome."_

Hiding behind Blue Diamond's looming figure, they crossed to the next pillar, and closer to the door. They now stood at the top of the first flight of stairs.

_"An Agate terrifies, a Lapis Lazuli terraforms—where's their Diamond when they need her, Blue?"_

Blue Diamond, in need of support, turned to the nearest pillar and wrapped her arms around it, resting her head in the crook of her elbow. If her eyes had been open, she would have seen the two humans. Panicked, they scurried down the stairs and away from her.

Yellow Diamond approached and raised her voice. _"You've got to be a leader, Blue!"_ she paused. _"Yes, we still love her. . . but now there's nothing we can do."_

The two Diamonds turned away and Steven took the opportunity to grab his dad's hand and run across the small landing to the next staircase. Now all that was between them was a flight of stairs and a few feet of exposed floor.

At Yellow's signal, the Pearls' melody took on an inspiring tone, almost like an anthem or a chant.

 _"How can you stand to be here with all of this?"_ she continued, _"You're drowning in your own regret—wouldn't you rather forget her?"_

Her only response was an icy glare from Blue. Evidently, that wasn't an option, but Yellow didn't seem to take the hint.

 _"Won't it be grand to get rid of it all?"_ she smiled drily. _"Let's make a plan of attack—we need to start looking forward, not back. We can't_ change _what has happened."_

With Blue Diamond's attention fixed on her, Steven and Greg cleared the last flight of stairs, resigning themselves to hide behind the furthest pillar in the event that the door would open.

 _"Yes,"_ Yellow Diamond continued, tone softening, and she knelt in front of her companion, taking Blue's hands in her own, _"Of course we still love her, and we're always thinking of her."_ She stood, pulling Blue gently to her feet. "Don't you know I miss her too?"

Her voice broke, and she pulled away to gaze at the opposite wall. When she next spoke, her usually strong voice was fragile, and she steadied herself against a pillar, squeezing her eyes shut. "But what's the use of feeling blue?"

Expression softening, Blue Diamond padded over to her and laid a steadying palm against her back. As if on cue, the large doors opened, startling Steven and prompting Blue to snatch her hand away again.

"And we have arrived," came Holly Blue's voice. "That will be all, pearl." She gave two claps, dismissing the latter (Steven cringed), and clacking into the chamber with Sapphire and Ruby in tow.

When the door slid shut, Holly Blue bowed before her leader. "My Diamond," she fawned. "My gracious, wondrous, luminous, lustrous Diamond. . ." she lifted her head, and froze. ". . .s! Oh, my! It's truly an honour to bask in your radiance!. . .es."

"Get to the point, agate," Yellow Diamond replied brusquely.

She cleared her throat. "Yes, of course. My deepest apologies. You'll be pleased to know that your Sapphire has completed your special delivery!" She stepped aside, gesturing to the small Gem.

Blue Diamond turned, narrowed eyes settling on the group. "What special delivery?"

"Uh. . . the special delivery you requested from Earth, of course," Holly stammered, trying to conceal her surprise.

"I never _asked_ any Sapphire to go to Earth," Blue Diamond replied smoothly. Yellow glanced at her in question.

Sapphire stood rigid, hands behind her back. "I. . . Uhm. . ."

As Steven watched, crackling ice crystals formed around her skirts.

"Oh no," he whispered. "She's freezing up!"

Standing behind her, Ruby slowly reached forward and gave her hand a squeeze. Some of her anxiety seemed to melt away.

". . . My future vision foresaw you, my Diamond, desiring more. . . humans, for the zoo, so I. . . acted accordingly."

A nervous Holly Blue glanced beseechingly at her Diamond, a strained smile fixed on her face.

After a few nervewracking seconds, Blue Diamond sighed. "It's true. The window for preserving Earth specimens is closing."

Steven exhaled.

"Is _that_ what you want?" Yellow Diamond turned. "Sapphire, has the cluster emerged yet?"

"No, it has not."

She gave Blue a wry smile. "Then there's still time. That will be all!" Much like the Agate, she gave two precise claps, dismissing the Gems and settling a hand on the small of her companion's back as they both turned away.

"My Diamonds," Holly Blue bowed, and turned and strutted out with her company of two.

Steven and Greg barely made it out just in time before the doors crashed shut behind them.

Once outside, they cautiously turned to Holly Blue, facing away from them. Steven noticed, with some relief, that Amethyst had also found her way back to them.

_"TWO Diamonds!"_

They all jumped at Holly's sudden outburst. "I can't believe it. Can you believe it? Oh well of course you can you probably foresaw the whole thing," she motormouthed.

"Of course! No surprises here," Sapphire replied, following behind, and the rest cautiously followed suit. Rose-as-Pearl was visibly trembling.

"I _never_ expected to see _Yellow Diamond_ in _person_! What a commanding presence—you can just _feel_ strength and confidence radiating _from_ her. Don't misunderstand me, of course," she gushed, suddenly whirling around, and in a split second, Amethyst grew to hide the two humans, who ducked hurriedly behind her. "I'll _always_ be in Blue's confidence, but if I _had_ been made for Yellow, you wouldn't see _me_ complaining!"

She turned and continued down the hallway. Breathing a collective sigh of relief, the Gems followed, Amethyst shrinking down comfortably.

"I _do_ hope they _appreciate_ all my hard work to preserve the Pink Diamond legacy. It would _really_ make it worth being _stationed_ here with these sorry excuses for Gems."

Amethyst let out a quiet breath. They slipped past the Quartz doorguards, who, at Amethyst's shushing motion, straightened and said nothing.

Holly Blue sighed. "It's a shame though. This outpost is so remote, I was beginning to think we'd been forgotten."

One by one, they slipped past her, aiming for the Ruby ship. Tension fading, Rose shifted back to her dormant form.

"But we _haven't_! Two Diamonds, one day, what an honour! I don't think anything could spoil this for me!"

She turned with a smile to the stowaways—two escaped humans, an _unbubbled_ Rose Quartz, an overcooked Amethyst, a frozen Ruby and the Sapphire, commandeering the whole thing.

Under the Agate's cold gaze, Steven and Greg gave a nervous laugh.

Holly Blue was not amused. "What. Is. _THE MEANING OF THIS?!_ " she bellowed. Beyond her, the door to the museum was suddenly crowded with purple faces.

" _Why_ are these two outside the containment area?" she demanded.

"Holly Blue, I can explain," Sapphire began, stepping forward.

"No need, your Clarity," she said with a wave of her hand. "Not even _you_ could have foreseen how _incompetent these Amethysts are._ "

There was a flash of light behind her head and she raised a hand to the back of her neck. "Well, if you want something done right, you just do it your _self_!" She drew and snapped her electric whip with emphasis, fixing hard eyes on the humans. " _You two_ are coming with _me_!"

She slashed her whip and it darted forward like a snake, coursing with deadly electricity.

There was a flash of light and the electricity fizzled and died against skin.

Garnet stood, clenching the nullified whip. Behind her, Rose Quartz summoned her shield and drew her sword. Holly Blue gasped, horrified that a Sapphire should engage in such a low act. Steven almost giggled.

"Garnet!" the humans cried excitedly.

"Steven, get Greg onboard," the fusion replied.

"Yes please," the latter agreed, and scurried through the door.

"We'll handle this noise," Garnet smirked, summoning her visor.

Rose lunged forward, slicing the whip with her sword and disengaging the current, before Amethyst darted forward, grabbing the loose end of the whip and disappearing in a ball of light.

Using spin-dash to zoom around, she effortlessly tangled Holly Blue up in her own whip, earning a collective cheer from the Amethyst guards. Returning to a stationary position, she dusted off her hands and strode onto the ship. Garnet stepped up and smirked at the scandalised Agate.

"I've been waiting to do this all day," she said, summoning a heavy gauntlet—and barely popped Holly in the midsection with an uncovered hand, earning a pathetic squeak as she keeled over and hit the ground with a loud groan. The Amethysts all burst out laughing.

"What are you doing? They're traitors—destroy them!" the Agate cried, rolling onto her knees and shoulders.

The guards' only response was to wave over her head at Amethyst, standing on the ship's ramp. Amethyst grinned, cocking a finger-gun and kissing it for emphasis. "Famethyst for life!"

"I'll report you to the Diamonds," Holly Blue screeched, finally dissipating her whip and sitting up. "All of you, you'll all be _shattered_!"

Finally finding her confidence, Rose suddenly flashed her a dazzling grin and glided forward to kneel in front of her. "You're really gonna tell the Diamonds that you let a group of rebels break into _Pink Diamond's Zoo_ and escape from right under your _nose_?" She laughed and stood, smile growing wider. "That doesn't sound like a very good plan to me, Holly."

Turning, she leapt gracefully up onto the ramp of the hovering Ruby ship. "I think, if you'd like to keep your job, you better stay quiet. _That will be all._ "

Beside her, Steven raised his hands and delivered two precise claps, and they swept out of the bay to the guards' cheers.

○○○

Inside the ship, they all laughed, Rose once again seated at the controls and Amethyst perched on the dashboard next to her.

"Thanks so much for comin' to get me," Greg said gratefully. "That has to be like the third craziest weekend I've ever had." They all gazed out at the pink structure, looped by two enormous hand ships—one blue, one yellow—backlit by the enormous orange planet.

"Dad, I'm really sorry I got you into all this," Steven said, hanging his head. "This whole thing started 'cause. . . I wanted answers."

"You don't have to be sorry about a thing," he smiled. "I hope you found what you were looking for."

"I did. I found you."

Rose's smile faltered. A beaming Garnet laid a hand on her shoulder, and, hurriedly plastering a cheery expression on her face, she laid her hand on the interface, and the ship warped away from zoos, Diamonds, and Holly Blues. . . back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just here to say that the capitalisation of Gems' names referred to whether or not they were actually viewed as people by the speaker. In the case of Holly Blue, whenever she refers to any Gems below a Sapphire, the name is lowercase, as she views them as little more than servants.
> 
> And also that the shift between italicising the Diamonds' speech and leaving it as default is the differentiation between Steven seeing them as scary space tyrants and coming to realise that they are just as much people too.


End file.
